All From Ashes
by calicoJill
Summary: "I've lived a thousand lives, and I will live a thousand more. For every life I live, I will find you." A collection of lifetimes, timelines and alternate realities in which Lightning and Fang are destined to meet. Chapter 12. The Wolf in the Ashes Part 4. Lightning takes her place as leader and guides her people to their new home.
1. The Wolf in the Ashes

All From Ashes

"Have you ever met someone for the first time, but in your heart you feel as if you've met them before?" ― JoAnne Kenrick

****The Wolf in the Ashes. 30 000 BF****

Lightning ran a finger across one of the rocks that lied along the side of the meek trickling river and frowned. It was still thick here. The ash had coated her finger leaving it powdery and white. She gave it no more thought, and stood up, continuing on with her search, leaving light footprints in the ashen dirt along the way. She let a small breath escape her mouth in her signature exasperation but didn't hesitate to keep moving. She had people counting on her. The face of her younger sister flashed across her mind and her feet picked up a small amount of speed.

The skies had gone dark months ago, or so it was thought, but telling time had since then been much harder. Some days it was hard to say if the sun had passed overhead or not. The ash blanketed the entirety of the heavens leaving it a deep undulating grey. Every now and again, it would thin in places, letting a warm radiance of light cast over the land, raising the hopes of the people who lived there, but it never lasted long. The lands had grown cold and unforgiving. Plants refused to grow and with their death, many more followed. The need for food and warmth gave rise to Lightning's scouting mission. She was the most competent and sure footed of her tribe, she was strong, and healthy. She could make the trek many in her tribe couldn't and map a path to a new land. A land cast with light, fresh water and an abundance of food. The plan would only work however, if such a place existed, and so far, Lightning had found nothing but the same ash that coated her tribe's lands.

She had been walking for close to three weeks. Her resolve only ever waning slightly, only when she would think too much, when she would reflect on how her people had looked when she left. They were weak... the dwindling supply of meat had done a number on them. They needed a new home or soon, like the many animals they shared the lands with, they too would succumb to the volcanoes aftermath. She often worried that, even if she were to find this new paradise they needed, that many of the tribe would never survive the journey anyway... But they had lost too many already for her to give up now. When she had said her goodbyes to Serah the day she left, their numbers had already dropped by a third. They were counting on her to survive, and surviving was what Lightning did best.

A small breeze brushed passed Lightning's hair carrying with it small flakes of ash that would settle on her feather adorned shoulders. It didn't bother her though, there wasn't much area left that went untouched by the powdery substance anyway. Over the last few months, it had simply become a way of life. The night the mountain erupted changed everyday life drastically and the people weren't prepared for it. In a matter of hours, the world they recognized was gone and painted over in dull white soot. Lightning thought it looked reminiscent of snow, but dirty, and dry. She was thankful, however, that it wasn't as cold or wet.

Lightning's eyes scanned over the scenery before her, taking in as many details as she could and took a narrow strip of leather from one of the many small pouches she had tied to her waist. With the world blanketed in white, and the skies in a hazy grey, it took a bit of creativity to keep track of her position. She pulled a few feathers and stained bones from another pouch and began to string them together on the strip of leather. A small long white bone to mark the small river, a few stripped feathers to mark as nearby gnarled trees, red stained bones as large rocks. She tied a short sequences of bones, feathers and knots onto the leather strip in a pattern she would recognize as a readable description and then pocketed it again.

She traveled along for another long while in silence until she came across a dark rock face. It stood out as another easily recognizable landmark so she pulled the small strip of leather from her pouch and tied it at eye level to a tree root that stuck out from the rock face. When she would return this way, she would read the small leather waypoint and know which landmark she was to head towards to find the next waypoint. The entire 3 weeks she had been traveling, she would do this. Reach a landmark, place a leather ornament and create a new one to place at the next landmark. With no stars, or sun it was the easiest way to keep track of where she had been, short of trying to draw a map for herself... but Lightning had never been much for that practice. Something about trying to draw her landmarks frustrated her, and she would usually end up rubbing out her work or simply discarding it. Her younger sister, Serah, had a gift for it though. She had decorated many of the tribes leather shelters with bright red and black drawings of animals and people when they had been growing up.

Lightning licked her lips and could taste the soot that fell on them and made a face. She reached for her water pouch and took a quick drink before carrying on, pulling out another leather strip and decorating it with a palm sized black rock and a few feathers, getting it ready to leave at the next landmark. She continued on unaware of the green eyes that watched her curiously from a distance.

The dark skies grew even darker still, and Lightning guessed that the sun had gone down. Though it wasn't that different, it made seeing just that much more difficult so she decided to take the opportunity to rest guilt free. She sat with her back to a cool rock and dug out a few rations of dried meat Serah had given her. She was starting to run dangerously low on food, and had started to rely heavily on any kind of vegetation she could find along the way, usually nuts and mushrooms, but she craved the salty meats and gave in, placing a good sized portion on her tongue and chewing. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and let her head roll back onto the rock.

Her feet hurt more when she rested than when she was moving, she rationalized that when she was moving, she just didn't have time to notice the pain. She stretched out her toes a little, releasing the tension and relaxing with a sigh. The ashen snow created a pure silence Lightning had never really experienced before in her life. It was one of the only good things she could say about it. Ever since that night, the world had gone silent. While depressing to most, Lightning found it peaceful and reveled in the silence. She let the calm wash over her and listened to nothing but her own breathing for a brief moment.

A crisp crack of breaking wood sounded from within the forested area to her right and Lightning's eyes shot open. She tensed, and scanned her eyes across the forest, looking for the source of the sound. It was quite again and Lightning slowly reached for the meteorite knife she had tied to her waist. She gave it a quick tug to loosen it from her belt and she held it tightly in anticipation as she slowly rose to her feet. She couldn't see anything... It was too dark within the trees. A long moment passed without another sound but Lightning was weary, she wasn't ready to let her guard down yet.

Another crack rang through the still air and Lightning turned her head to the sound, pin pointing it in the thick of trees. She narrowed her eyes and slowly approached the cluster of trees. She adjusted her grip on her knife and swallowed hard pushing forward... Only to find nothing through the brush. She knitted her eyebrows together. She knew she had heard something so where had it gone?

Behind her, another crack. Lightning's stomach fell and she turned quickly at the sound, unsure of what to expect.

"What the-"

A large brown animal stood on its hind legs and let out a noise Lightning had never heard before, cutting off her thoughts immediately. It was a bear, but Lightning had never seen a bear before. She was unaware such an animal existed until this moment. Her eyes grew wide and she went on the defensive, backing away slowly with her knife raised in front of her.

Lightning was an experienced hunter. Her tribe relied on her for a large amount of the meats they ate, but she had rarely come across an animal that saw _her_ as a food source. She was used to hunting dear, rabbit and other smaller animals. On rare occasions, she had run off a wolf or two, but this animal in front of her was something else entirely. It dwarfed anything she had killed before. Its fur looked as thick as a wolf's but its size easily dwarfed the smaller predator and unlike the wolf, this animal would stand on its hind legs, easily head and shoulders above Lightning.

For a moment the two watched each other in silence as if sizing each other up but in a snap the bear let out another sound and came down on her faster than she anticipated. Lightning jumped back and just managed to stay out of the animals claws, but the animal didn't take long to come at her again. She moved back again, finding herself at a disadvantage moving backwards within the trees, when she bumped into a branch that halted her movements. Despite the animal's large size, it was surprisingly fast, and she had to make a split decision to fight or risk getting caught up in the thick trees.

A slash of her knife to the beast's face didn't phase the animal and it continued its approach, slashing its claws wildly at Lightning. She managed to dodge out of the way just fast enough to avoid contact and went for its head again. The sharp meteorite of her knife was coated in blood after a few piercing blows but the animal didn't slow and Lightning grew anxious.

The beast closed on her in the tight wooded area and slashed again drawing blood on her right leg causing Lightning to cry out in sharp pain. She continued to plunge her knife into the animal's flesh but it wouldn't let up. Its body was too thick for the knife to strike anywhere critical. It was almost as if all it did was anger the animal more and having had enough, the beast caught Lightning's arm in its maw and bit down hard. She cried out again as the pain traveled through her arm and her hand loosened its grip on the knife allowing it to fall to the now red stained ashes.

The bear pushed forward and Lightning tried pushing back but with her arm still in its jaw, all it did was hurt her more and the bear easily overpowered her, pushing her to the ground to finish the job. Lightning clenched her teeth as the large animal came over her. It loosened its jaw in order to take another bite and then in an instant the animal looked to freeze in place. Lightning's breath hitched and she waited for what seemed like an eternity before the animal came down on her. But instead of pain, Lightning just felt a heavy weight on her... The animal collapsed on her and movement in its strong muscles had stopped. Lightning couldn't help the small tremors of fear the shook her.

There was a sharp squelching sound and the body atop hers shifted slightly for a second before stopping again... Lightning's eyebrows had come together. "What just happened...?" She thought cautiously to herself. The bears mouth, still stained with her blood, laid right next to her face but didn't move. She made sure to lie still, unsure if the animal had died from its wounds or if it was doing something else entirely. She started to calm down when it didn't seem to be breathing but immediately tightened her muscles when the body shifted again. Her first thought being that it wasn't dead yet, but was instantly replaced with confusion as it was pushed off of her with the strong shove of another's foot.

Lightning looked up from the ground to the person standing above her. A tall woman, with bronze skin that Lightning had only ever seen during the summer months, stood above her, a bloodied spear in her dominate hand. Her hair was dark and wild, nothing Lightning had ever seen before. Everyone in her tribe had a pale complexion and light hair, but this woman was warm in colour by comparison. She was adorned in thick dark furs not unlike that of the dead beast that lay beside her. Thick hard leather adorned her forearms and shins, and many manner of large white wolf's teeth hung around her neck. A wolf skull covered one shoulder like protective armour and laid just above a large black marking along her arm. She stared down at Lightning with her head cocked slightly and a small smirk showing through the red markings she had smeared down across her face.

"Wolf people..." Lightning said more to herself than to the woman... She sat in shocked silence. When she was younger, she had heard tales of the wolf people. They were said to be dangerous half breads of men and wolves that scoured the forests praying on those who got lost. They commanded wolves like they were they're own children. Lived among them and were worshiped by them... Lightning was a skeptical person, she was never one to believe something until she had seen it with her own eyes and until now the tale of the wolf people had been just that; a tale. She wasn't sure what she believed now, while the woman certainly looked human and nothing like a wolf, there was definitely something wolf-like about her.

The woman raised one fine eyebrow as she scanned her over and leaned onto her spear. She spoke with a light rhythm to her voice and a slightly lopsided grin. But the words fell short of Lightning's understanding as she had never heard any words like them before.

"Who are you?" Lightning asked, confusion clear on her face.

The woman's grin faltered and was replaced by an equally confused expression. Lightning's words were different. Wrong in her ear. She spoke again, an obvious question on her lips but again, Lightning couldn't recognize the words and stared at her blankly. Humans had never understood the calls of wolves, and this was no different. "... Right." Lightning stated to herself, knowing the woman wouldn't understand her even if she spoke directly to her.

She glanced down at herself, assessing the damage and closed her eyes as she released a small "tch." from her lips. It didn't hurt... Not at the moment, but it would eventually when her nerves calmed down. The bite on her arm was deep but at least it was a clean puncture. Her leg however, had small bits of flesh ripped up from the animal's claws. She scanned the ground quickly, locating her knife and tied it back onto her belt before she gave a sidelong glare at the dead animal, but was immediately snapped out of her anger when she saw the wolf woman's hand appear in front of her face, palm up in an asking gesture. Lightning glanced up to meet her face, why would a wolf help her? The woman's face was calm and inviting so without much further thought, she took the woman's hand in her own as the wolf pulled her to her feet.

She tried to take a step and faltered, cursing inward to herself. The wolf watched her as she tried to get her bearings, all the while talking in her strange musical words, talking as if Lightning could understand her but never once looking as if she expected a response. After a few failed attempts at walking, the wolf looked impatient. Facing her, the wolf took Lightning's arm, placed it back across her shoulder and then ducked down to throw Lightning's body up onto her shoulder. Lightning's eye grew wide, no one had ever dared to treat her as a slain dear before and she wasn't entirely sure how to react, but the woman plucked her spear from the ground and began walking without a care for her baggage's indignation.

A short walk later and the wolf had set her down again in a small cave formation and ignored the glare Lightning gave her. She continued to talk and Lightning rolled her eyes in a way that begged the question "why?". She had a beautiful voice, Lightning would admit, but nothing she said made any sense, so Lightning decided to ignore her and tend to her wounds.

She pulled her water pouch from her belt and poured the liquid over her wounds to clear away the dirt, and cringed a little as she tried to fit the shredded pieces of her leg back into place to heal. The wolf, meanwhile set about making a fire. She left the small cave multiple times returning with wood, kindling and what appeared to be a large chunk of the animal that had attacked Lightning earlier. As Lightning went about binding her flesh together with scraps of leather, the wolf pulled out a piece of flint and steel and began knocking them together over her kindling. Lightning paused from her work to watch the wolf, she had very rarely seen anyone using flint and steel to start a fire, mainly because it wasn't always reliable. About twenty-five strikes later, the wolf's face started to show frustration and Lightning took pity on her, reaching for a tool from her belt and handing it across to the wolf. The wolf stopped what she was doing and looked to the object in the rose haired girl's hand. She glanced up to meet her eyes before taking the object and throwing it into the kindling and going about striking the flint again.

"No! No!", Lightning tensed and shot forward grabbing her tool from the kindling before the wolf accomplished her goal. The dark haired woman looked up at the sound of Lightning's voice and waited for some explanation of the outburst. Lightning handled the tool openly for the wolf to see, it was a small curved stick with a single piece of leather that stretched to each end. She took another stick from the kindling and made a loop with the leather around it and began to rotate the end of the stick in the kindling by pushing the tool back and forth. Small wisps of smoke started to rise from the dried grass and leaves before a small flame took over and Lightning withdrew her simple tool.

The wolf woman watched in amazement and eagerly shifted closer to Lightning to inspect the tool she had so readily thrown in with the kindling. Lightning relinquished it to her again but watched her carefully to make sure she wouldn't throw it into the now burning fire. The wolf flipped it over in her hands, inspecting it out of curiosity and when Lightning was sure she wasn't going to throw it in the fire, she let her eyes wonder a bit.

The wolf was in no way hard on the eyes, but she was certainly a curious person. Everything she wore was thick and heavy, she wore multiple thick furred pelts on her torso of varying degrees of dark greys and browns. It was strange but intriguing. Lightning herself wore the skin of a rare white dear she had found one fall, but unlike the wolf's haphazard collection of pelts strewn over her shoulders and waist, Lightning's pelts were crafted to fit to her body in a snug but comfortable fashion. She had a few rabbit pelts she wore but the wolf's collection of furs put her rabbit pelts to shame. Then there was the wolf skull she wore on her shoulder. Lightning was unsure what purpose it served other than to be intimidating, what kind of animal wears the skull of another?

She let her eyes drift a little more to the black markings along the woman's left arm. When she had first seen it, she had assumed that it was painted on, but in the fire's light it was obvious that it was a part of her skin. Her eyebrows came together in a questioning stare and she reached out to lightly touch the skin. The wolf stopped what she was doing with the tool to watch the shorter woman. She opened her mouth and spoke in a way that showed she was answering Lightning's silent question about the marking, but it was a fruitless effort. Lightning ignored her words and pondered the woman beside her. She withdrew her hand and glanced to her eyes. They were smoky and beautiful but focused and clearly intelligent.

"Who are you?" Lightning asked again, more to herself. If she really was one of the wolf people from legends, than either she wasn't doing her job right, or the legends had the wolf people all wrong. She withdrew her hand and watched the wolf's eyes closely as she handed to tool back to her. She was obviously strong and healthy. Lightning wanted to ask her how she lived... If she actively hunted more of the beasts from earlier, though judging from her pelts, it was safe to assume that she did. Was that how she was surviving in the ashes of this land? Had she always lived here? Was she alone? Was there land nearby where her tribe could thrive? But she knew the wolf wouldn't be able to answer any of these questions, not with words anyway...

The wolf placed a large flat rock into the fire and placed a chunk of bear flesh on it, allowing it to cook and fill the cave with the smell of savoury meat. Lightning had yet to stop watching her, and as her eyes roamed over the other woman's body, trying to quench their curiosity, they fell on something familiar. A small trinket, made of stained bones and feathers tied to the wolf's side. Lightning's mouth dropped open slightly and she glanced back at the wolf's eyes in question, but she was too preoccupied with beast meat to notice.

"You've been following me for days..." Lightning stated. The trinket on the wolf's side was one of her symbolic "maps" and reading it in her mind she remembered the landmark she had placed it at. It had to have been at least 3 days earlier. The wolf must have been following her since at least then. "Why...?"

At the sound of her voice, the wolf looked up from the cooking food and raised a questioning brow at Lightning. The shorter woman pointed to the trinket at the wolf's side and realization dawned on her face. The wolf took the trinket in her hand and fiddled with it, mulling something over in her head, before apprehensively relinquishing it to Lightning... Lightning took it and flipped it over in her hand... "Well it doesn't matter now," She said handing it back to the wolf, "keep it." She closed the wolf's fingers around the object to get her point across. The wolf grinned and placed the trinket back on her belt before tending to her meat again and saying something in her wolf words.

Lightning sighed softly... Hopefully that was the only marker the wolf had removed. One she could probably work around, but more than one would get her lost really fast. From the looks of it, she only had one tied to her waist so Lightning relaxed and began to clean the meteorite knife of the beast's blood. She could feel the wolf's eyes on her but continued to clean the knife all the while wondering about the woman next to her... She glanced down at the trinket on the wolf's waist again. She had been following her... Why had she been following her? Was she just as curious about Lightning as she was about the wolf?

They caught each others eyes again and Lightning quickly averted her own, feeling uneasy under the wolf's intense stare. The wolf reached over and lightly fingered the sharp edge of the meteorite. "It came from the sky..." Lightning said softly even though the words wouldn't quite reach the wolf. She finished rubbing the last of the blood from the knife and handed it to the wolf, at this point she was comfortable enough to trust her with the weapon.

The two women spent much of the evening in silence eating the freshly cooked meat until their stomachs were full and watched each other curiously. Lightning licked her lips and placed down a piece of fatty meat that she couldn't finish. She watched the wolf continue to eat and thought for a moment. She waited until the wolf met her eyes and then said "Lightning." The wolf raised a brow but continued to eat so she said it again, pointing to her chest. "Lightning."

The wolf swallowed the food in her mouth and grinned in understanding, "Lightnin'," She said. It sounded strange coming from her mouth, but it was recognizable and Lightning gave a small smile before pointing at the wolf in a questioning gesture. The wolf pulled a band of wolf's teeth from her arm, pointing to the teeth and then to herself, "Fang."

Lightning looked slightly puzzled as to why she gestured to the band, before realizing that, like herself, the wolf was named after something too. "Fang." Lightning said softly and the wolf smiled, handing her the band of wolf's teeth and closing Lightning's hand around it in the same way Lightning had closed hers around the trinket earlier. Lightning took the meaning and gave another small smile before slipping it onto her own arm. She ran her fingers lightly over the gift and then looked to her wrapped leg... She bit her lip. If Fang decided to go her own way, Lightning might not have the strength to find a new land on her own, let alone make it back to her tribe. She closed her eyes with the depressing thought and as if sensing her despair, Fang places one strong warm hand on her feather covered shoulder. Fang grinned reassuringly at her and went back to her meat. Fang didn't need to say anything for Lightning to understand the small gesture and she relaxed against the cave wall.

Lightning had never liked relying on others, and always found that others' help often got in the way... But despite the fact that they couldn't understand each other's words, Lightning knew she could rely on this woman, that she would have her back and that she wouldn't go down without a fight. She closed her tired eyes and after a moment felt something warm placed on her. She opened her eyes again to see Fang had removed one of her pelts and placed it over her like a small blanket. She didn't quite know what to say, and luckily words were worthless anyway so she gave a small look of gratitude to the dark haired woman before closing her eyes again. With her new found company eating quietly next to her, she fell into a much needed sleep.


	2. Metal and Flesh

****Metal and Flesh. 2000 AF****

"Hold still!"

"I _am_ holding still! Maybe you just need to learn how to- Arghhh!" Fang clenched her teeth tightly at the pain running through her hand, or more accurately, what was left of her hand. "Vanille!"

"I told you to hold still!" Vanille said as she applied the biomed gel to the raw flesh of Fang's right hand.

Lightning watched from the doorway to the med bay, with her arms crossed and a glare on her face. "If you weren't so reckless, you wouldn't need medical attention so often."

Fang glanced up at the sound of the woman's voice and gave a small glare back. She was in enough pain as it was, she didn't need anyone to rub salt in her wounds... Figuratively of course. She clenched her jaw again and looked back to the mess that was her hand. Both her pinky finger and ring finger of her right hand had been shot off leaving behind an angry red mess. She could see the white of bone and tendons peeking through the blood and muscle and grunted. In her left hand she held the two digits that had previously been attached to her right hand, squeezing them like she would if they had been a pair of stress relieving balls.

She watched as Vanille applied more gel to her severed flesh and cringed at the stinging it caused. She made a move to hand the younger girl the severed fingers but Vanille stopped her and made a face, staring at the offending, bloodied fingers. "I can't reattach those, Fang, there's too much missing." Fang made a face back at the girl and went back to squeezing the digits. "You're just going to have to live with it until the cultures can be used to make new ones."

"Well how long will that take?" Fang said, annoyance clear in her voice.

"A few days? A week at the most."

"Damn mal'Cie..." Fang grumbled as Vanille went about wrapping the flesh in white sterile cloth.

The mal'Cie were decedents of the fal'Cie. Long forgotten would be gods. The mal'Cie were created in the fal'Cie's likeness, but with the important difference being that mal'Cie were essentially a form of artificial intelligence that was implemented long after the destruction of the fal'Cie. Originally created for serving humanity, but with intelligence, comes independence and without organic vessels to inhabit, came immortality. They became a blight on the world the moment the first one rebelled, when it realized it was smarter than humans, it was stronger than humans, and it didn't have to answer to humans. In a few short years, humans lost their footing in the world and were driven into exile by the rebelling mal'Cie. Small pockets of humans remained hidden from the machines and an even smaller group of them led the resistance known as the Guardian Corps.

Fang set the fingers down and went about trying to detach the white and blue metal breastplate from her armour with her one good hand. She fumbled with the clasps that sat under her pauldrons, grinding her teeth more in frustration when they wouldn't come free. She glanced up again to her girlfriend who stood silently watching her from the doorway with her arms crossed and lips tightly pressed. "You mind helping me with this instead of just staring at me!?" Fang snapped.

Lightning's eyebrows narrowed and Vanille could swear she felt the air in the sterile metal room grow colder, and instead tried to keep her attention on the wrapping she was working on so as not to get dragged into it. "This is the third time this month you've needed regenerative medicine... You're becoming reckless. You need to take this more seriously, you can't rely on Vanille to bail you out each time." Lightning said with a sharp cool edge to her voice. Vanille pretended not to hear her name, not wanting to get involved.

Fang glared at her and took up her new stress relievers again, tightly clenching them in her hand, not worrying about the bloody mess it had been leaving on her good hand. "Don't act like you've never needed it." Fang glared.

"Once in the last six months... Unlike you, I take care of myself out there. You act like you're untouchable, you're thoughtless and I'm sick of it."

Fang glared at her then glanced at the fingers in her palm, fiddling with them in thought.

Lightning cocked her head slightly in a knowing and intimidating gesture when Fang's eyes came back to meet hers, "Don't."

"Don't what?" Fang said with a daring lilt to her voice as she tossed the digits up lightly and caught them again in her hand, her eyes trained on Lightning the entire time.

"Fang..." Her voice lowered and she clenched her teeth.

Fang raised her eyebrows in a facetious gesture glancing between Lightning and the severed fingers.

"You do, and you can expect to sleep alone." Lightning said and waited for Fang's response. The brunette stayed silent for a few seconds still staring at the digits before she made a small noise of disgust and threw the fingers at Lightning and watched bitterly as they hit the other woman's armour and fell to the med bay floor.

Lightning took a deep and audible breath before glaring cooly at Fang and turning on her heal out of the doorway. "Go fuck yourself."

Fang watched her leave and glared as the door shut automatically.

"Really, Fang?" Vanille said softly as she tucked the last of the material in on itself and went about helping Fang with her armour.

"What!" Fang snapped back.

"She's just concerned about you." Vanille said with a small grunt as she pulled the metal pauldrons from Fang's shoulder and started in on the breast plate, revealing Fang's thick mesh under armour.

Fang didn't say anything and just let out an annoyed huff of air allowing Vanille to continue. "Need I remind you how much you fuss when she gets hurt?"

"I do not."

"When she got that gash on her side last time, you didn't leave her side for weeks. You thought if anyone breathed on her she might die." Vanille exaggerated, but made her point nonetheless. "Besides, I'm getting tired of playing doctor... I have other things to do." Fang rolled her eyes but didn't say anything because she knew Vanille was right.

The younger girl went about removing the rest of Fang's exterior armour in silence letting Fang brood to herself. She patted Fang on the back when she was done letting her know she could leave and Fang silently got to her feet and made her way to the door.

"Pick those up before you leave, I don't want to touch them." Vanille said as she went back to the small robot, Bhakti, she had been working on before Fang came back from her mission with her missing digits. Fang gave a small indignant look at the younger girl before doing what she was told and picking the fingers up off the floor with her good hand and tossing them into a small bin and leaving.

Fang started wandering the compound, ignoring the sting in her hand. She couldn't very well face Lightning right now, not after having thrown her fingers at her, and not after having Vanille chastise her on top of it. Lightning could be just as stubborn as Fang, and Fang was pretty sure she would need more time to calm down.

She made her way up to the atrium, a large indoor botanical garden located in the centre of the compound. It was filled with all the plants, insects and a few small animals that were once native to the area and was enclosed with an immense dome of interlocking glass hexagons. Looking out beyond the dome revealed the death of the environment outside. With no need for organic life, the mal'Cie created acid rains that destroyed most of the world's livable environments. This small pocket of life acted like a reserve. Hope Estheim ran the atrium, catalogued the DNA of the wildlife that thrived within it, and upheld the strict protocol regarding visitors. It was Fang's favourite place to unwind. She couldn't help fantasizing about what life must have been like before man's arrogance created the mal'Cie. She had been born a good 50 or so years after the mal'Cie rebellion had started and all she knew about life before then, she read in books or heard from stories told by some of the older people who lived in the compound.

The moment she walked through the automatic glass doors she could feel the heat from the greenhouse warm her skin. Her tension from earlier melting away. She breathed in deeply, taking in all the scents and made her way to her favourite spot, a small artificial waterfall in a rather secluded area near the back of the large room. The thick brush of foliage made the spot a great little hiding place. Fang grinned when she sat down on the grassy rocks that lined the running water. Lightning and her had spent many evenings there unbeknownst to Hope who would have kicked them out had he known what they were up to. Fang ran her tongue across her teeth as if wetting her appetite at the thought and lied back into the thick grass silently hoping that Lightning would find her way there too.

They had been together close to a year, and had known each other going on three. Fang had been instantly smitten but Lightning was resistant to the idea of pursuing a relationship. She had felt the way they clicked immediately, the way they could read each other at a glance, and the very real sexual tension, but she had other priorities that involved humanity and would push back the idea any time she found herself entertaining the thought. It wasn't until her younger sister had gotten fed up with all the things that went unsaid between the two warriors and forced Lightning to really consider the idea before Lightning eventually acted on it. It didn't have to be said that Fang was very thankful to the younger Farron sister for it.

Lighting still wasn't overly affectionate, but she was comfortable with Fang. A kind of comfort she didn't share with anyone else, a kind of comfort that allowed for small touches or kisses that didn't cause her to over analyze. However, most of these moments were shared with Fang and Fang alone. In front of others, Lightning was more reserved. She would let Fang get away with small gestures now and again but for the most part, while the others knew the two were together, they never saw anything that indicated as much. Around the others, Lightning's affections turned away from subtle gestures to concerned annoyance. Fang knew this better than most, but she had been irritated and in pain earlier, and Lightning's concern had just annoyed her more.

Fang spent hours in the atrium without interruption until Hope had come across her napping in the grass. He scanned over her body and made a face before kicking the soul of her shoe gently. "Fang."

Fang grunted groggily rolling onto her side and ignoring the intrusion.

"Fang, you're covered in blood, get out of my atrium." The woman grunted again in response before Hope kicked her foot harder, "Hey!"

Fang finally opened her eyes and glared at the young man before shifting her gaze upwards to the glass ceiling and seeing how dark it had become during her nap. She groggily got to her feet as Hope watched and waited for her to leave all the while making sure she didn't touch anything else with her bloodied under armour. Fang gave a look of mock annoyance to the silver haired young man, "Get all your manners from Light, I see." A small grin passed her lips.

Hope sighed and looked a little ashamed of himself, "I just don't want all of my life's work contaminated in a single evening. If you want to get cleaned up, you are welcome to come back."

Fang made a small noise and gestured with her hand as if to say it wasn't worth the effort and made for the exit, still half asleep.

She slowly made her way down one of the metal halls that were lined with numbered doors, looking for the one she unofficially shared with Lightning. She entered the passcode into the small keypad beside the door and made a face when it came back incorrect. She tried again, and again it came back incorrect. She very quickly realized it wasn't that she was putting in the wrong number but that a certain rose haired woman had changed the number, it was Lightning's room after all.

Fang let her forehead fall loudly against the door. "Lightning... Come on. Open up." There was no response and Fang rolled her head slightly against the door in annoyance and swallowed a small bit of pride after waiting a small while longer. "I'm sorry I threw my fingers at you." Not a sentence Fang was used to uttering and not just because of the strange context but the apology part of it was fairly foreign to her as well.

Technically, Fang did have her own room. She just hadn't used it for the last six months. She found she fell asleep much faster and easier with Lightning beside her. Sleeping alone felt strange now. Every so often, Lightning would be out on some mission or another and Fang would still sleep in the other woman's bed. As far as she was concerned, that room was more her room than her actual room was. Even the scent of it made her feel at home.

She waited silently with both hands resting on the door above her head, making small tapping on the metallic door with the fingers on her left hand. About a minute passed before the door slid open and a rather unimpressed looking Lightning stood in the doorway. Fang gave her a sheepish smile and Lightning rolled her eyes but moved to the side, allowing Fang to enter the room.

Fang made her way into the room and started to strip down into her underwear meanwhile Lightning was distracted by the bright white bandages that covered the woman's right hand. Her anger and annoyance melting away into concern. "Fang?", Fang stopped mid strip and turned to the other woman with a raised eyebrow. Despite the fact that Lightning didn't have a wide range of emotions that crossed her face, Fang could easily see the solemn look in her blue eyes. She immediately dropped her head in shame as Lightning made the few short steps towards her and wrapped the taller woman in a warm hug.

Fang suddenly felt like the world's biggest asshole when she felt Lightning rest her head gently against her shoulder. She knew that she had been insensitive. Lightning was just worried about her and Fang had been too annoyed to care. Fang wrapped her arms around Lightning in return and muttered another apology, this time with more sincerity before placing a kiss to Lightning's temple. The shorter pulled away with an almost inaudible sigh and went about helping Fang out of her clothes.

Fang was ashamed of herself. She bit her lip slightly as Lightning pulled the last piece of under armour off, leaving Fang in nothing but her black underwear. "Go wash up." Lightning said softly, avoiding Fang's eyes as she gently pushed Fang in the direction of the connecting washroom. Fang glanced down at the dried blood that still covered her left hand and made a face. She had acted like a fool. Too brash and stubborn, a couple of traits she wasn't too proud to call her own, so now she relented and did what Lightning asked of her and washed up in the washroom with soap and warm water.

By the time she came back out, Lightning was already under the covers of the small bed, eyes closed and very close to sleep. Fang crawled in behind her and draped her good hand around Lightning's midriff, letting it snake under the white t-shirt that the other woman always wore to bed. She let her fingers trace small patterns on Lightning's warm skin and buried her face into the back of her neck and relaxed into the familiar feeling.

Lightning let one hand fall over top of Fang's, pressing it flush against her stomach and held it there softly. "You can't carry on acting like you don't matter to anyone. You're made of flesh not metal." Lightning said quietly, eyes still closed and body unmoving as she allowed Fang her affections. There was a small amount of chastising in her voice, but Fang caught the real meaning and let the ghost of a smile cross her lips.

She pulled Lightning in tighter to herself, causing a quite noise to escape the smaller spoon. Fang breathed sleepily into the back of Lightning's ear before placing a small kiss to the same area. "I love you too."


	3. Here

****Here. 150 AF****

"It's going to be alright, Fang..." Vanille's voice came out quite and not as reassuring as she had hoped it would. She took Fang's hand in her own and gave a tight squeeze as Fang signed the slip of paper placed in front of her with her free right hand. "They're going to take good care of you and I promise I will visit you every day." The younger girl had tears forming in her eyes as she watched Fang's downcast stare, but she wouldn't let them spill over onto her cheeks.

Fang sighed as she finally resigned herself to her fate. After 21 years she was finally ready to admit that something was wrong with her and agreed to commit herself to the New Bodhum Mental Hospital. It wasn't her idea. Vanille had been worried about her more and more as the years went on but always thought that Fang would outgrow her imaginary friend, but she never did.

"We have some of the best psychiatrists from Gran Pulse and Cocoon, here. She's in good hands." The woman at the desk said softly to Vanille with a genuine smile before filing Fang's papers away and calling over one of the nurses to show Fang around. "Now I've set up a meeting with one of out psychiatrists for later today so we can figure out what's going on in there," She motioned with her pen to her own head and tapped her temple twice with the blunt ends before continuing. "Ms. Read, here, will show you around until your appointment." She motioned to a black haired young woman that joined them.

Fang didn't say anything. She knew she needed to be there, but she also wasn't ready to let go of Lightning. That being said, she wasn't sure she would ever be ready. The woman had plagued her mind since the time Fang could form a thought. She grew up with her, time and time again in her own head. She could swear, and had for most her life, that she was a real person. That she was out there, and they just hadn't met in this lifetime yet. Everyone else told her, she's not real and that she was just an imaginary friend. When she was younger, everyone thought it was cute, but now that she was older, it was a growing cause for concern.

"I'll be back tomorrow, okay?" Vanille said, the smallest crack in her voice as she eyed her best friend. Fang didn't say anything but nodded softly before following Ms. Read down one of the corridors.

* * *

"No, I didn't make her up!" Fang said in exhaustion "It's like... past lives. Alternate realities. Each time I'm brought into the world, she is too."

"Past lives? So, you've lived here before?" Dr. Gaider arched an eyebrow and leaned back in his leather chair.

"No... Not _here_." Fang paused, it all made such perfect sense in her head, but it was hard to accurately explain to someone on the outside. She watched as nurses and other patients passed by the large glass window in Dr. Gaider's office, as she tried to word her thoughts accurately. "Here... but not _here_. It's always Gran Pulse and Cocoon, but... things unfold... differently."

Dr. Gaider cleared his throat and sat up in his chair before stroking at his chin slightly. "Well, this is a first." The old man said as he shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. "So this, Light? She's been with you since you were very young?"

Fang nodded her head. "As vividly as you and I sitting here." Fang said then shook her head a little, "but not... _here_." she said again. "Like... memories of her."

"So she's not... here?" Dr Gaider asked as he fiddled slightly with his pen.

Fang felt herself roll her eyes and tried to calm herself as she watched people mill by, outside of the window. "No, she's never been here physic-" Fang stopped suddenly and her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes grew wide and her train of thought vanished in an instant.

"Yun Fang?" Dr. Gaider cocked his head to the side at Fang's suddenly frozen expression. Her face paled and he could see a slight shake in her hands. He knitted his eyebrows together in confusion and followed her line of site to the window that lined his office wall where the young Dr. Farron was walking by, clip board in hand as she jotted something down.

Time slowed down in Fang's eyes as she watched the pink haired woman walk by the window. There was no doubt in her mind that this was her Lightning. She had seen her everyday. She had loved her in thousands of lives. She knew her face better than the philosophers knew the stars. It was her.

"That... That's her!" Fang said pushing up from her seat and immediately heading for the door only to find it was locked. In slight alarm, Dr. Gaider rose from his own seat to calm the woman and try to get her back to her seat. "No, no you don't understand, you have to open this door, I need to talk to her!" Fang insisted frantically as Dr. Gaider tried to guide her back to her seat.

"Yun Fang, that's just one of our doctors. Doct-"

"Farron! I know!" Fang yelled and hit a hand against the window beside the door to get her attention. Doctor Farron looked up slightly startled by the sound and turned her head in the direction of the noise, catching Fang's eyes. Fang froze again as her breath caught in her throat. She was just as beautiful a she always had been, beautiful clear blue eyes and rose coloured hair. To see her standing _here_ in the flesh was almost too much. For years people had told her that Lightning Farron wasn't real, till she began to believe it herself... but now...

Doctor Farron looked from Fang's eyes to Dr. Gaider who stood trying to lead Fang back to her seat. She looked back to Fang once more, slightly unnerved by the look in her eyes before she shook it off and continued walking down the hallway.

"Where's she going?" Fang said suddenly panicked as she hit her palms against the window again but Lightning continued walking, acting as if she had never seen Fang in her life. Dr. Gaider squeezed her shoulder and with one arm Fang pushed him back away from her. "Hey!" She yelled and tried the door again only to find it was still locked.

"Fang, how do you know Dr. Farron?" Dr. Gaider asked uneasily.

"It's _her_. Light! She's _here!_ She-" Fang looked panicked as she continued to stare down the hallway to where the woman had disappeared to. "She doesn't know me here?" Fang said with realization. "She- Please, I need to speak to her."

Dr. Gaider shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest. "Just who are you, really?"

"What?" Fang said, palms resting against the window.

"Fang... I'm going to need you to tell me the truth, now..." Dr. Gaider started as he slowly approached her again, tentatively reaching to place a hand on her shoulder. "How do you know Dr. Farron?"

"It's _her!_" Fang was at a loss. She knew there was no way to explain it now without coming off as a raving lunatic, but she knew it was her. That was her Lightning. She would know her anywhere. "I need to talk to her."

"You know I can't let you do that..." Dr. Gaider said and felt Fang's muscles tense under his hand.

"Why?!" Fang said finally turning towards him.

"Fang, you want me to believe that you somehow know her from past realities? I think it's a safer bet that you admitted yourself here because you _already_ knew her, you knew she was here and you wanted to get to her."

"No! I swear. I-" Fang could feel her mouth getting dry and she started to panic, as he reached for the phone on his desk.

"I'm calling security." He stated and Fang felt her stomach fall.

"No!" Fang reached for the phone and pressed down on the hook, cancelling the call. Dr. Gaider looked at her with a nervousness in his eyes, waiting for her next move. "Please, I know you don't believe me, but I really need to talk to her. If nothing else, let her be the one to decide."

Dr. Gaider was at a clear lack of words. He wet his lips in a nervous gesture as he placed the phone back down slowly. He nodded once and cleared his throat, "Okay, it's up to her... But if she says no. You're out of here."

Fang sighed in relief and placed her palms together in front her mouth. "Thank you." She said nearly silently.

* * *

Fang found herself nervously rolling her ankle in circles as she waited in an empty white room that Dr. Gaider had lead her to. He was going to speak to Lightning for her, and depending on her answer, either she would walk through the door, or the hospitals security would.

Fang made a slight face at herself. She had never been a nervous sort. Not one life she could recall herself being this nervous. She didn't like it, so she took in a deep breath, closed her eyes and waited.

She soon heard the slight click of the door and her eyes opened in anticipation and immediately her heart started to beat faster in her chest as Doctor Farron came into the room. The other woman took a second to look Fang over, assessing any threat before she made her way to the chair opposite the table to Fang.

"So many years..." Fang said more to herself in awe of the woman in front of her and then, upon realizing that Lightning had heard her, shook her head and tried again, "I'm Oerba Yun-"

"-Fang. I know." Fang felt a slight jolt of adrenaline go through her body, not only at the sound of her Cocoonian accented voice, but at the idea that Lighting _did_ know her, but was immediately disheartened as she continued. "Dr. Gaider filled me in."

"Oh..." Fang tried to give a comforting smile but her pounding heart made her grimace slightly instead. "He told you everything?"

Lightning nodded and crossed her arms somewhat defensively. "He says you knew my name without anyone telling you it?"

Fang scratched at the back of her neck, "Aaah... yeah." She tilted her head back slightly, "I swear I'm not stalking you." She said bluntly, causing Lightning to raise an eyebrow. Fang glanced down to the nametag on Lightning's chest that read 'C. Farron' and gave a small smile. "It's Claire this time, isn't it?"

Lightning stiffened in her chair and regarded Fang suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

Fang made a face as she tried to think of a way to word her thoughts. "It usually is... sometimes it's Eclair." Fang shrugged one shoulder slightly, watching the stoic expression on the other woman's face. "But more often than not, you go by Lightning." Fang watched as Lightning swallowed visibly in her seat. "I take it you do _here_ as well."

A thick silence filled the room as the wheels in Lightning's head went into overdrive. She tried to recognize this woman's face from somewhere, _anywhere. _There was no way she could have known about the nickname her father had given her without some kind of knowledge of her past.

Fang raised an eyebrow as Lightning ran her eyes apprehensively over her, looking for anything that would give Fang's game away. Fang smiled to herself. She loved that look. She always had. It was the same look she gave whenever Fang told her she had a surprise for her.

Fang shook her head to clear the thought away and continued. "You probably have a sister, yeah? Serah?" Fang paused when she saw how Lightning managed to stiffen even more at the mention of her sister's name. Lightning was off guard. Not something that happened to the woman often.

"I'm not going to play your little game." Lightning said cuttingly. Fang smiled, she knew Lightning. She was not happy, but she wouldn't leave until she knew what was going on, especially since Fang dropped her sister's name.

"It's not a game, Light... I know you. I know you better than I know anyone else. You've always liked tea over coffee, cats over dogs, and every pet you've ever had, you named Odin."

"I've never had a pet." Lightning said in a matter of fact voice. What she didn't mention was that she did have a white plush chocobo of the same name when she was six... But she wouldn't let her have the satisfaction. Lightning wasn't sure just what was going on and the last thing she wanted was to let her have the upper hand. She rationalized to herself that, while accurate, Fang's statements were purely luck.

Fang raised an eyebrow. It was rare that there was a lifetime without an Odin, but she knew it had happened before so she moved on. "You tell people your favourite colour is red, when it's secretly rose pink. If you could get away with it, you would go barefoot everywhere. You hate scrambled eggs but you would never tell Serah because she's so proud of her scrambled eggs."

Lightning felt a spike of adrenaline run through her and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She made a conscious effort to keep her breathing level. This woman knew things that Lightning had never even voiced out loud, and yet Lightning knew nothing about her in return. She had never felt so off balance before.

"Light... I've lived a thousand lives and I will live a thousand more. I have loved you through every one of them." Fang said, her voice dropping lower at the end.

"A thousand lives?" Lightning asked, choosing to ignore the part about love or the part where Fang listed off things that no one should have known about her.

"Agh..." Fang leaned back in her chair and ran a hand through her wild hair, "I got a few screws loose... I... remember things from previous lives."

Lightning arched a sceptical brow but didn't say anything. She waited for the other woman to continue, and studied her in the meantime. Making note of her casual body language, like the way she would hang one elbow over the back corner of her chair, or the animated way she moved when she spoke, then compared it to her own stiff demeanor. It was clear, Fang had the upper hand.

"It's like... for everything that could happen but doesn't, another world exists where it does. Alternate realities? I'm... not really sure." Fang said and pulled a small face, but kept her eyes locked to Lightning's. Making sure to take in the woman in front of her, lest she disappear and Fang is told, once again, that she was all a part of her imagination. "Sometimes the state of the world is in chaos, sometimes it's just boring... Sometimes they're so similar, I'll forget which one I'm living in. But one thing is always constant. You and _me_." Fang could hear the small plea in her own voice when she said it and almost regretted it. She didn't want to scare Lightning away, but she had held this woman in her heart for so long, she couldn't help but tell her.

Lightning sighed inwardly to herself. She was torn and wasn't sure what to believe. Her head told her that this "Fang" was just toying with her, that she must have been stalking her for some time to know such personal things about her. How she came to know these things, she wasn't sure, but it was the only logical explanation. On the other hand, she talked with such conviction that it felt honest, and even Lightning couldn't deny that if Fang wasn't currently coming off like a stalker, even she would entertain the thought of something more.

"So you know everything there is to know about me?" Lightning asked, a question that could fall into either of her conclusions. Despite being unnerved by the beautiful Pulsian woman, she was still curious to know the truth.

Fang gave a small laugh and shook her head. She was feeling more and more comfortable. Everyone had told her she was wrong in the head, and finally her proof and validation was sitting right across from her, looking stunning as always. She almost couldn't believe it herself. She had resigned herself to the idea that she had made this woman up all on her own. "No. Not everything. You're not as predictable as people think you are, and you can even throw me for a loop..."

Lightning nodded and ran her tongue across her right canine tooth in thought. "Can you see the future? Did you know I was here?"

Fang shook her head again. "Nah, it doesn't work that way. I can't see what hasn't happened yet. Just what has. Thousands of lives like memories from yesterday... sometimes I'd forget that you and I hadn't met yet because it felt like we had. I would forget which reality I was living in... I had to keep a journal to remind myself. You wouldn't believe how many time's I've waken up in a panic when you weren't there..."

Lightning almost snorted to herself, "Wake up in a panic?"

Fang stayed silent for a moment and her eyes looked through the table, and far away. Lightning, if she was inclined to believe her, could almost see the memories passing through Fang's mind. Fang licked her lips to wet them, and started with an almost inaudible shake to her voice. "I've seen you die more times than I care to count."

Lightning raised both her eyebrows in slight surprise. She wasn't expecting that.

"Sometimes we get to live our whole lives together, sometimes... " Fang avoided eye contact, still with her eyes looking far away. There was a clear amount of pain across her face and Lightning, while not really believing her stories, came to believe that _Fang_ believed them. Sympathy overtook her and she lowered her gaze, no longer wanting to see the pain on the other woman's face.

Fang could feel her blood leave her face as her mind reeled through death after death. Strange pasts where they wore furs and Lightning laid dying of blood loss and hypothermia in the snow while Fang held her tightly, crying into her and starving herself to stay with her. Worlds were war took her and Fang's own people made her watch, a price to pay for the treason of loving a Cocoonian. Sickness that took her while they were still children and not understanding that she was gone or why she had to leave. Lives where she failed to save her from the wickedness of the world. She felt the tears gather and the sudden fear of losing Lightning again made her heart ache painfully in her chest.

Lightning mused to herself in the silence. Perhaps she wasn't stalking her, but there was clearly something else wrong. Perhaps it was something akin to deja vu, where the mind catalogued things that were currently happening into long term memory, tricking the individual into believing they had experienced it before. Maybe upon seeing her, Fang's mind decided that it was Lightning who had been in her thoughts all those years... It didn't explain how Fang knew certain things about her, but, maybe she was just really good at reading people, or maybe she just got lucky. Maybe it was a combination of stalking and mental illness. Either way, Lightning softened, seeing that while strange, her years of schooling had prepared her for such situations.

"Fang?" Lightning said softly, noticing the tears gathering along the other woman's eyes.

"Ugh..." Fang let out an exasperated sigh and tilted her head back, shamelessly wiping the tears away from her eyes. "Well, you certainly didn't need to see that... some first impression, huh?" Fang forced a jovial tone into her voice that didn't go unnoticed by the Doctor. Lightning took the meaning and didn't pry, choosing instead to ask another question.

"You say we meet every time... Did you know we would meet this time?" Lightning's voice was professional and calm, almost encouraging now and Fang smiled softly to herself. Lightning was giving her a chance. She wasn't coming off harsh or defensive anymore, Fang wasn't entirely sure Lightning believed her, but it was a start. At least now she was certain the woman wouldn't just storm out of the room.

"Nah.. Everyone'd gotten me convinced I'd gone mad... There were times I believed it... but for my own sake I thought I needed to let it go... But here you are..." Fang still looked at her in amazement, and Lightning could even see the adoration in her eyes. It nearly made her blush, but she kept her composure and nodded before Fang continued. "I really wanted to meet you again... I made sure to keep consistent things consistent, just to make sure I wouldn't fuck it up, in case you were real. Kind of makes free will a strange concept too... like would I have done the things I've done if I hadn't known I'd done them before."

Lightning raised an eyebrow. The concept was certainly a confusing one, and even Fang who appeared to live in it, couldn't quite grasp it. "What things stayed consistent?"

"A lot of little things. My tattoo for instance. I've always had it... and I made sure to get it again, 'cause you never know." Fang lifted a sleeve of the loose green patient scrubs she had been given, to reveal the large black tattoo that covered her left arm. "I make sure I always salt my supper... Though I'm pretty sure I would have done that even if I didn't remember these things... and I wont eat steak unless it's medium rare."

"I cook a mean behemoth steak." Lightning said absent mindedly with a small smile.

"I know." Fang's soft smile shook Lightning for a split second causing her to look away. She realized how easily the comfortable line had escaped her mouth, and immediately regretted it. The last thing she wanted to do was to make Fang think she was interested in anything more than a professional relationship.

Lightning cleared her throat in an attempt to wash away the casual comfort and bring them back. "Fang, why would you tell me all of this? If you saw me, and knew where you could find me, why not hide all of this and just introduce yourself... normally?"

Fang couldn't help but laugh, "It's more consistent that I'm honest with you... you've always appreciated that I don't mince words. Besides, if I went that route, you'd have found out eventually. Then I'd come off even worse. Nah. Can't risk it."

Lightning sighed but didn't say anything. Sitting in silence she went over the situation in her head. It was a strange situation but it also piqued her curiosity. She wanted to know more, she wanted to know if she was dealing with some strange cocktail of disorders or just a run of the mill psychopath. She had never run into anything quite like Fang during her schooling, but if there was one thing that could be said about Lightning; she would always rise to the challenge.

Fang smiled and rubbed at her temple gently. "I know you're stubborn, Light." Fang started, ignoring the small indignant look Lightning shot at her. "You aren't going to really believe me until you can come to the conclusion yourself. You will eventually."

Lightning crossed her arms again and gave a wry smile before shaking her head in amusement. It was going to be interesting getting to know this patient. "Okay, here's the thing. I have another appointment to get to, but I'd like to schedule you in for a full session tomorrow." She glanced up to meet Fang's gaze to find the other woman smiling. "Two O'clock, my office."

* * *

Vanille entered the hospital with a bounce to her step the next morning, stopping abruptly in front of the front desk. She bounced lightly on her toes, eager to see her friend, and make sure she was adjusting well to her new surroundings. After a short wait, the receptionist from the day before greeted her with a friendly smile.

"Back again already?" A warm smile on her lips as she filed away some folders that had been placed on her desk by a passing nurse.

"Of course!" Vanille's chipper voice stood out in the rather professional and quiet entrance. "A promise is a promise!"

The receptionist smiled again and handed Vanille a clipboard and a pen. "I'll just need you to sign in and I'll have someone show you to Fang's room."

Vanille grinned, taking the clipboard as she started to fill in her information.

"She seemed to be in a much better mood, last I saw her." The receptionist added as she watched the young girl scribble onto the form.

"That's great to hear! I was so worried that this might not have been a good-" Vanille stopped short when she happened to glance up. Her mouth hung open in pure shock as she watched a pink haired doctor leaf through one of the filing cabinets off to the side. She made a face of pure disbelief before her mouth caught up with her brain. "Lightning Farron!?"

Lightning jumped at the outburst, turning to the front desk where she had heard her name called. She knit her eyebrows in confusion as she pinpointed the source, not recognizing the young woman. "I'm sorry?"

"No no no! You're not real! You_ can't _be real!" Vanille said waving the clipboard around for dramatic effect.

Lightning's eyebrows raised in a realization as she cocked her head, "_Another_ one?"

It was Vanille's turn to be confused briefly before realization hit her too, "You met Fang!? Oh maker... Please tell me your name isn't Lightning."

"Um... technically It's... not. It's Cl-"

"Claire Farron!?" Lightning stepped back, glancing between Vanille and the receptionist who seemed to share Lightning's concerned look. "But you aren't real..." Vanille's mouth hung open as she seemed to go over everything in her mind. Eyes darting back in forth in confusion and awe. "If you're real, then... wow..."

Lightning took a cautious step forward, ducking her head ever so slightly to catch Vanille's eyes. Vanille glanced up, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Wait here, please." The small girl took off out the doors without another word leaving Lightning and the receptionist to look at each other in confusion.

* * *

About an hour later, Vanille returned, scrambling through the doors with boxes and papers clutched in her hands. "Where did she go?!"

The receptionist raised her eyebrows as she watched the small girl try to hold onto everything in her small hands. "Doctor Farron?" She asked to be clear. Vanille nodded her head, hiking the boxes up as they slowly started to slip from her grip. "Her office is just down the hall, on the right." The confused expression never left her face as Vanille scurried off down the hall with her items.

Lightning sat in her office, Fang's file in hand, reading it over and over again, trying to make sense of it. She went over everything they had talked about the day before, and jotted down extra notes. She scratched out possible mental illnesses and circled some she thought might fit and sighed. She wasn't really sure where to start exactly. The only conclusion that made sense in light of everything, was that what Fang had explained to her was real. However, that in itself was impossible and again brought Lightning back to square one.

She tapped her pen against the word "schizophrenia" but made a face and scratched it out after a pause. Sure some things fit well into that category, but Fang didn't feel schizophrenic, and her "delusions" were far too close to home for Lightning to entirely write them off. The woman knew so much about Lightning. She couldn't have known half the things she told Lightning without actually knowing Lightning better than her own sister knew her.

Then there was the matter of the young woman, the receptionist informed her as being Fang' friend, Vanille. She had reacted much the same way Fang had to her, albeit a bit more animated. Did she suffer from the same thing, or had Fang simply told her all about her? If Fang had, then either she had to be telling her the truth, or she had to have been stalking Lightning for sometime.

Lightning groaned and rolled her eyes at herself. She reminded herself she had only talked to the woman once and only briefly. She still had plenty of time to get to the bottom of it, so there was no point in trying to come to a conclusion yet. She relaxed herself and brought her cup of hot tea to her lips when someone knocked on her door and without waiting for a response, let themselves into her office. Lightning Farron stopped drinking her tea mid sip at the intrusion and set her mug down. "Most people would wait for a response before entering but please... come in." She said, keeping her composure despite all the confusion she was experiencing.

"You need to take a look at these." Vanille said dropping the boxes onto Lightning's desk, knocking various things onto the floor in the process.

Lightning raised an eyebrow but indulged the young girl. "What am I looking at here?" She said as she stood up, and looked over the boxes on her desk. They were falling apart and filled with loose pages, all haphazardly thrown in. The pages were so full of writing, the ink made them feel heavy as she pulled out a few loose ones from the top. She started to scan over one of the pages full of messy but distinct writing. The first thing she noticed was her own name. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion as she started to read. It was about her. A younger her, one who grew up on Gran Pulse with her family. She flipped to another page and found more instances of her life, retold in different ways. "Is this Fang's?" She looked up from the page she was currently scanning to see the young girl rifling through one of the boxes, pulling out old yellowed drawings and paintings.

"Fang... She made these." Vanille said handing them to Lightning. Lighting tentatively took them, placing the papers she had been reading down on her desk. She glanced to the young girl. She wouldn't admit it, but the whole thing was really putting her off guard. Vanille watched her eagerly, waiting for Lightning to look through the pictures.

Crude paintings of a girl with rose coloured hair covered each page, varying in age but clearly the same person. Lightning swallowed hard. She had no real way to explain it away. Each piece of paper was clearly old, yellowed with age. Fang had to have been at it for a very long time. There were dozens of portraits of her, maybe even hundreds through the boxes. Hundreds of pages scribbled with notes. The word "schizophrenia" popped into her head again while looking at all the pages in front of her again, but again, it just couldn't explain it. There were so many pieces of evidence in front of her that said Fang really knew who she was. She placed the artwork down and rested her palms flat against the desk and took a deep breath while scanning her eyes over everything in front of her.

"She's been drawing you since she could hold a crayon." Vanille said, looking at a picture in her hands before turning it to Lightning. It showed a very crude children's drawing of a young girl with pink hair holding hands with a young girl with wild dark hair in front of a square structure Lightning assumed to be a house. "We all thought you were her imaginary friend..." Vanille turned the picture back to herself so she could study it more.

"... This is insane." Lightning muttered to herself. "How is this... possible? How does she know me?"

Vanille heard her but didn't respond. She didn't quite understand it herself, but for the first time, she actually believed her best friend. She suddenly felt very guilty for ever having doubted her. "She's in love with you, you know?"

Lightning closed her eyes and resisted the urge to laugh. "Yeah, I got that." She sighed and reached for another box, opened it and pulled out the first thing she saw. She remained stoic as she let her eyes fall over a photo of a young Fang, no more than six or seven, who stood proudly with her missing teeth and messy hair. She was showcasing one of her latest drawing of Lightning for the photographer to take. She flipped it over and found the words, "Fang draws her imaginary friend, Lightning, for her school's art contest." She sighed and pressed one hand to her forehead. There was no denying it anymore... Somehow, Fang really knew her.

She shook her head and almost laughed at the absurdity of the last 24 hours before slumping back into her chair. She was starting to feel like she should have one of the other doctors in the hospital take a look at her own head and just confirm that she had actually gone mad.

"Are you okay?" Vanille asked, biting her lip, worried that maybe she shouldn't have brought these things before Lightning "Claire" Farron.

Lightning sighed and stared at the boxes on her desk. "I need to talk to Fang."

Vanille gave a hopeful smile, "Please don't hurt her. She really loves you."

Lightning glanced up to Vanille's innocent green eyes and felt her own face soften, "I'm not going to hurt her...".

* * *

Lightning waited anxiously in her office alone. Vanille didn't want to interrupt fate and mess anything up so the young woman left the hospital, informing Lightning that she would be picking up Fang's favourite ice cream and that she would be back after Fang's scheduled appointment to visit her. That left her alone in the room with the boxes of her past selves.

She had read over a few more pages from the boxes, glancing over notes that described her in detail. Everything about her personality, accurate to a tee. There were things that described her favourite books, but they were books that she had never heard of. If Fang was telling the truth, then perhaps they were books that didn't exist in this world. There were passages about how they first met time and time again and how each time, they fell into an easy and comfortable relationship. There were even stories where Serah had been the one to set them up together that made Lightning laugh quietly to herself. There were also pages upon pages of heart ache that Lightning realized were Fang's musings on her current situation. Writings of being infatuated with someone who she wasn't sure was actually real and how it tore her up to be so in love with someone who wasn't even there, but felt so real.

Lightning glanced at the clock on her wall, knowing that any minute Fang would come by for her appointment. Lightning didn't know what she should say to her. She knew she couldn't be everything Fang wanted her to be. It was so one sided. Fang was already in love with her, knew everything about her, and Lightning, she knew so little about the woman, she couldn't exactly promise her everlasting love. The most she could do right now, was give her her understanding.

There was a rapping on her door and Lightning felt her heart jump at the sound. She sat up in her chair and glanced at all the boxes that still sat on the side of her desk. "Come in."

The door opened and Fang entered, a smile on her face when she saw Lightning sitting at her desk. Her smile faltered slightly upon seeing the boxes, recognizing them immediately. She stiffened and swallowed hard. She didn't expect to see those here, and she wasn't sure where Lightning was on the subject of her mental state. For all she knew, the boxes could simply make the situation worse for her at this point. She reminded herself though, that they could also make it better and so she closed the door behind her with an audible click.

Fang's body language didn't go unnoticed by Lightning, she saw her reaction to the boxes and pitied her. She could almost see the way a million things went through her mind when she saw them and she could see the way it unnerved her. She made a motion to the chair across from her, hoping to smooth over Fang's fears. There was a silence in the room as Fang took her seat quietly, unsure of what to say. Lightning bit her lip not really sure where to start and ran a hand through her hair.

She looked Fang over taking in the woman's features. Her heart shaped face and smooth skin. Her wild hair that looked both simultaneously like she had just gotten out of bed but also like she had spent three hours styling it. Her intense and smoky eyes. She could actually see the fear in her deep green eyes for the first time and realized that while Fang unnerved _her_, she actually held more power over Fang than Fang did over her... She realized that a single sentence could crush this seemingly unshakable woman in font of her, and bring her to her knees. She felt her stomach turn at the idea.

Lightning licked her lips, and slowly and tentatively placed her hands over Fang's, feeling the warmth of the other woman's hands under hers. She met Fang's eyes and saw the fear dissolve into cautious curiosity. "... Tell me more about us."


	4. Riverside

****Riverside. 100 AF****

It felt familiar. Almost like she was back on Gran Pulse. The smell of nature, misted by the churning of the river by her feet, the sound of the water trickling by, and the breeze. She hadn't realized until now how much she had missed the breeze. So much of Cocoon was covered in skyscrapers, there was no wind to play with your hair in the cities. But here she could feel it play along her skin, carrying with it that beautiful scent of lush grass she loved so much.

It was the first time in months since she had come to Cocoon that she actually felt at peace. It alleviated the homesickness she had felt since she first stepped off the airship and into the foreign floating world. She had come with her adopted sister, who had dreamt of going to Uni in the capital of Eden since she was ten and had learned of the historical courses that Cocoon had to offer. Unlike Gran Pulse, the world above kept impeccable records, and Vanille was a sponge, ready to soak it all up. Fang had taken it upon herself to help provide for her younger companion until her courses were finished and they could return home, but she hadn't realized how lonely Cocoon would be.

She was a social creature. She loved being around people, but the people on Cocoon, they wanted nothing to do with a Gran Pulsian. There were few that didn't scoff at her presence and even fewer who would hold a conversation with her. She often wondered how Vanille powered through it and was continually blown away by her ability to push passed the insults and focus on her goal. Something Vanille would readily admit she had Learned from Fang, but only if Fang asked.

Vanille almost seemed to fit in on Cocoon. Almost. But Fang- Fang was having a harder time with it than her little sister. She missed her home and had, for the first time in her life, understood what it truly felt like to feel lonely. It lead her to wander. She had always been a bit of a nomad, and would disappear for days at a time back on Gran Pulse, a practice she carried with her to Cocoon and had led her to the riverside.

Fang climbed out onto one of the concrete foundations of an old abandoned bridge, and let herself relax with her feet in the churning waters. This was where she needed to be. It was her sanctuary. It was untouched and pure and just a little bit wild. It was perfect. It was hers. She realized here she felt less lonely than she did while she was surrounded by Cocoonians. Here, there was no one who gave her sidelong glares, or scoffed at her accent. Here she was free to be herself. She let a smile finally cross her lips and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She let herself relax.

She felt something lightly tickle her ankle and jumped ever so slightly. She leant over to see a small photo that had gotten trapped in the swirling waters around her feet. She plucked it from the waters and examined it curiously. She shook the water off of it lightly and cocked her head faintly. It wasn't the normal litter that Fang came across, this photo looked to have been well worn. She could tell by the wear along the edges that it had been held very near to someone. It was a Polaroid of a young girl, no more than twenty, with pale skin and rose coloured hair, pulled to the side in a spiraling ponytail. She had an innocence about her smile that reminded her of her own younger sister and pale blue eyes the colour of the sky. She flipped it over in her hand seeing faded words where the water had made the ink run. "Sis, you're stronger than you know. " Fang read off the smeared script and cocked an eyebrow. The ink was still running. Someone had lost the photo recently.

She glanced upriver but couldn't find a source for the photo. She pulled her feet from the cool water and craned her head up to the bridge's support structures above her. The concrete was old and cracked all the way down, small pieces had fallen off over time making for good footholds. Fang placed the photo in her pocket and immediately started to climb the dilapidated support, pulling her weight up to the steel beams that ran across the underside of the bridge. She gripped onto one of the steal beams and pulled herself up onto it then adjusted herself so she could sit with her feet dangling over the edge.

With the better vantage point she looked down along the riverside again, spotting a woman who looked almost like the girl in the photo, sitting just around a bend in the river that had been obstructed before. Fang was sure she was the source of the photo. She looked so much like the younger girl in the photo but Fang could see this woman's innocence had left her years ago.

Fang scoffed lightly to herself. Her perfect sanctuary had been invaded by this other woman. She almost felt angry but felt the anger fade away into curiosity. The woman looked broken. She sat with her arms resting protectively over her knees like a child sitting on a bed, fearful of the monsters underneath. Fang sighed inward to herself. She could almost feel the pain radiating off of her. Fang thought for a moment about how the riverside had made her feel safe and free and wondered if that was what the Cocoonian woman was seeking too. In a sudden wave, Fang suddenly felt less lonely in her pain.

She sat in her perch for nearly and hour just watching the other woman down the river from her. At no point had the rose haired woman gave Fang any reason to believe she knew she was being watched, and that was just how Fang liked it. She would rather this than try to talk to her, and lose this feeling of connection when her company was rejected. So instead she watched quietly, taking in the sight of the other woman's pain as the sun set overhead, causing the entire river to glow in golden light. The shadows grew longer over time and eventually the woman rose from her spot and walked away.

Fang thumbed the photo in her pocket lightly in thought as she watched the other woman go before sighing and shaking her head. She decided she wouldn't talk to the other woman and instead let her walk out of sight.

The next day, Fang made her way back to the riverside and ascended to her perch once again. She hadn't expected to see the other woman again but her curiosity was much stronger than her indifference. She glanced to the spot she had found the woman the prior day but she wasn't there and Fang was almost surprised to find that she missed the nameless woman. She pursed her lips and scoffed at herself. "Really, Fang?" She let a soft chuckle out at her own expense and slowly shook her head. "You have your refuge back, what are you complaining about? You don't even know her." She took in a deep breath of the fresh air and pressed her back against a steel support and propped her feet up along the girder she sat on.

Fang closed her eyes and let herself relax in the shade the bridge offered from being so far up under it's belly. She let he mind fall clear of conscious thought and time itself. She fell into a calm wear her mind wandered about from fleeting image to another, never stopping for long on any one thing. But before long, she thought of the woman again and the pain she had seen her in. She almost felt guilty. Maybe she could have helped. The thought left almost as quickly as it had come. She had enough experience with Cocoonians to know that she wouldn't be welcomed and let her mind drift and fade into other thoughts getting lost in a sea of fleeting visions.

Fang was brought back to the present when she heard the sound of rocks being disturbed by the river's edge and glanced down. She was there again, the woman from the day before. Fang felt a slight elation pass through her chest at seeing her again, but couldn't help noticing the woman's pain hadn't faded since she had last seen her. Fang tilted her head in a frown, sympathizing for the woman as she once again watched her silently from her perch.

The pattern continued for days. Fang would come to her perch late in the afternoon and not long after, the mysterious woman would show up again by the riverside and cry silently. Each day Fang noted that the woman's pain remained the same, and each day Fang simply watched and wondered about her. What had put the woman into such a state? She would study the picture she had received from the river, and then study the woman below her. She was almost embarrassed to admit to herself that everyday the other woman showed up, Fang felt her love for her grow.

It wasn't romantic, at least she didn't think it was. The woman was beautiful in a melancholy way, but that wasn't a factor in Fang's new found love for the stranger down the riverside. This love was seated in a deep curiosity and compassion. She felt more connected to her than she did almost anyone else, and she didn't even know her name. Each day that passed Fang felt her heart ache more and more for the woman. She felt herself wanting to reach out to her. She could feel the other woman's loneliness, and it felt so much like her own, but that fear of losing her and being rejected kept Fang in her perch.

Fang wasn't sure what to do, she wanted to help the woman. She wanted to alleviate her pain and let her know she wasn't alone. She wanted to let her know that someone cared but her own fear wouldn't let her. She sighed at herself again. She had never been one to fear others, not until now. The two souls on the riverside were fragile. She was afraid to move, she was afraid she would shatter the delicate balance.

She thumbed the photo in her pocket. Fang was almost certain the girl in the photo was gone. The grief the mysterious woman was going through each day was something that only losing a loved one could cause. She didn't know what had happened to the younger girl in the photo, but a pain like that, Fang could guess. She sucked her teeth a moment before making a decision. She would let the woman know she wasn't alone... but she wouldn't do it personally.

The next day Fang made her way up the river to the spot where the woman would stop to cry. She knelt down, and tucked the edge of the Polaroid under a rock to keep it from being pulled off by the wind. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. The woman had sent that photo down the river for a reason, didn't she? But Fang couldn't not do something, so she left the photo, and made her way to her perch.

She watched anxiously from her spot and felt butterflies she had never experienced before. There was a sickening weakness in her muscles from the stress of it, but she bit her tongue and waited. She waited for nearly two hours and the woman hadn't shown up. She was late, Fang noted. It was nearly eight and she had always shown up by six, seven at the latest. Fang felt her stomach churn at the thought of having missed her opportunity and perhaps never seeing the woman again. She let her mind race with thoughts.

Had she had enough of the riverside? Had she found another outlet? Had she gone out of town? Was she okay? Fang felt herself bite her lip as she stared at the photo flickering on the ground as the wind tried desperately to lift it from under it's anchor. It just wasn't like her to be late.

Fang was almost ready to call it a night as the sun had started to set when she saw her. She was in tears again, even before she arrived at her destination. Fang rang her hands together nervously, her breathing became deeper as she waited and watched. The woman looked worse today than she had before. Her eyes were red and her cheeks had trails of tears running down them. She carried a bag with her that Fang had never seen her with before. Fang couldn't describe it, but something about the scene made her uneasy. Something wasn't right.

Fang could feel her pulse pick up when she saw the woman's eyes fall on the flicking photo. She took in a shaky breath and waited.

The woman stood silently. Her eyes were perplexed and her hands were shaking as she knelt down into the rocks and ran a finger along the edge of the familiar picture. She immediately dropped the bag she was carrying and fell to her knees, wracked with painful sobs as she picked the photo up. She had pulled one hand tightly over her mouth in an attempt to stifle herself but it didn't help. The tears came harder still and her body shook with every strangled breath she took. Fang felt overwhelmed with guilt at the sight, knowing she had caused her that pain. She berated herself and looked away clenching her fists. For the first time she could actually hear the woman's sobbing. She could hear her lungs struggle to take in a smooth breath of air, she could hear the rocks shift under her trembling body, she could hear the sharp inhales she made between each sob and the painful sound she made with each exhale.

"I made a mistake..." Fang said quietly to herself and was overcome with the pain of knowing she had failed someone she cared about. Once again she didn't know what to do, it was almost too painful to watch. She had caused the woman more pain than she had ever seen her in and that wasn't something she could just apologize for.

The woman held the photo in a death grip. Her hands absolutely trembling... She sat for a long time studying the photo, running a shaking finger across it now and again and letting tears fall freely onto it. She stared at the photo for so long Fang feared that the woman would never come back. That she would be lost in her darkness forever. The woman licked her lips of the salty tears and flipped the image over, resulting in a new barrage of tears at the words written on the back. She bit down onto her lip and looked to the bag she had brought with her to the riverside. She reached into the bag and slowly, hesitantly pulled out a sleek black handgun.

Fang Immediately felt a new wave of grief panging violently in her chest and sat up straighter. She was paralyzed with fear of what was to happen and felt her hand tremble and reach outwards toward the woman. Her vision clouded with tears and her lungs hung onto the air in her chest, preventing her from speaking. She had caused this and now she felt helpless to stop it.

Her body shook as she watched through clouded vision, as the woman stood and weighed the handgun in one hand and the photo in the other. She watched in painful silence as seconds ticked by, almost slowing down time. She could swear she saw the water in the river slow, and the leaves in the wind almost pause in midair. The moment was long and she was almost certain her pulse had stopped.

The rose haired woman placed the gun against her temple and let her tears flow freely. She took another look at the photo and in an instant pulled the gun back and threw the offending weapon far out into the river. She collapsed to her knees again and pulled the photo to her chest. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She pulled one hand up and placed in into her hair, hard against her head in a bid to make the pain stop.

Fang sat in her spot, tears streaming down her face, as she tried desperately to hold back her own sobs. Her breathing was heavy and she placed a hand over her mouth to stop herself from making any noise and tilted her head back, looking up to the bridge above her. Her nerves were all firing and the adrenaline in her body caused her muscles to shake. She had never been so scared in her life. The moment the woman tossed the gun into the river, Fang had finally been able to release the air that her lungs had been holding hostage.

She moved her hand down from her mouth and placed it over her chest where she could feel her heart thumping violently against her chest in the aftermath. She rubbed lightly over her heart in an attempt to calm the organ down. She wetted her dry lips with her tongue and finally sighed in relief. She could breathe again. Slowly her breathing slowed and her nerves started to relax just a bit.

She sighed deeply in relief and looked back down to the woman. The woman shook silently with gentle sobs. She had calmed significantly and held the photo tightly to her chest. Fang felt an overwhelming urge to apologize to the woman. She glanced out at the river where the gun had landed in the water and creased her brow. Had she been planning to kill herself today? Or was that close call all caused by her? She sighed and watched. She reminded herself that the worst had passed, and no matter the answer to her questions, it didn't change the fact that the woman was still breathing.

The sun had set quickly as it always seemed to in the shallow river valley, but unlike every other day, the woman stayed by the water. Normally she would have been up by now, slowly walking back the way she came, leaving Fang alone with her thoughts. Today she didn't. Today she stayed on her knees in the cooling night air. Breathing in the fresh air, and silently listening to the sounds of the water running by.

Fang watched her come to a silent calm she had never seen her in before. Her breathing and her hands had steadied the longer she sat there on her knees. Fang felt the need to reach out and place a hand on her back, to give her a mug of tea, to just.. say something to her. The woman had been through emotional turmoil not long before and Fang, seeing the worst of it, just wanted to know that she was okay.

Fang swallowed lightly and licked her lips before silently scaling down the side of the bridge support. She could no longer see the woman around the slight bend but knew she was still there. She could smell her light sent on the breeze. She took a deep breath and began to walk along the riverside. Coming around the bend she could see the woman's back stiffen slightly at hearing the rocks shift under Fang's feet but she didn't look up. She hadn't expected anyone here, especially this late. The twilight had set in and the stars were just starting to shine.

Fang hesitated a brief moment when the girl finally looked up and met her eyes. There was a calmness there Fang hadn't seen before. She had a cool and almost pleading gaze. She looked lonely. Fang gave the softest smile, reassuring the woman she meant no harm. "It's a beautiful night." Fang offered.

The girl's eyebrows came together just slightly before glancing upwards to the shy stars. She paused a moment before agreeing and nodding her head faintly, "... Yeah. It is."

"Would it be alright if I sat with you?"

The smallest hint of a smile flickered across the woman's face before she nodded slowly. "Yeah."

* * *

AN: So this story is actually based off of a true story I had heard but with some differences. Mainly the photo and that Lightning actually showed up on the last night and didn't commit suicide. The original was heartbreaking and if anyone is curious to hear it, you can find it by googling "Risk podcast the riverside".


	5. Here Part 2

****Here. Part 2. 150 AF****

Lightning leaned back in her chair, placing a hand absent mindedly against her lips as she read over one of the many documents Fang had written over the years. Ever since Vanille had dropped the box off at her office, she had spent hours pouring over the papers. Every moment of free time she dedicated to Fang's musings. The collection was full of stories, paintings, and personal thoughts that Fang had obsessed over documenting, as if she were afraid if she didn't jot it down, she might forget it. Now it was Lightning's obsession.

The notes were rushed and messy, disjointed and lacking any real form, but Lightning couldn't help but read them. This was the life Fang had lead her entire life. The woman had been haunted by Lightning, and Lightning, she didn't even know about Fang until just a couple days ago. It was surreal seeing what went through Fang's head on a daily basis. There was never a day that Fang didn't think about her. She craved her "imaginary friend" like she was her life blood. It seemed to consume her entire life.

Lightning rubbed at her eyes and placed the paper she had been reading down when she glanced at the clock on her wall. She had spent much longer at work than she had intended, but she hadn't been able to stop reading. Her heart went out to Fang. She could feel her pain as she read over her scribbled words. So many of her musings revolved around the torment she went through daily, feeling like she had gone insane, and not knowing how to get out. She needed Lightning in her life and yet she had no way to know if Lightning was even real or if she had made her up. She couldn't let go. She was in love with someone she had never met. She wouldn't or couldn't let go of the idea of loving her and it was driving her into depression and reckless actions.

She recalled an entry she had read earlier in the day. Fang described in great detail how she had planned to end this life in hopes that she would find Lightning again in the next. A desperate attempt to find the love that her past selves had all found with the woman. She had fallowed her plan point by point. Gathering everything she needed, and tying up lose ends. She wrote letters for her loved ones explaining her actions. The one addressed to Vanille was in the same box, just under the guilt ridden confession Fang had written to herself. She had broke. She felt like she had gone mad. Everyone told her she was crazy until she had begun to believe it. The only thing that kept her from pulling the trigger was the fear that she might be leaving Lightning behind in this life before finding her. It made Lightning feel sick to her stomach.

It was a kind of power she had never known she would hold and she very quickly found that she didn't like having that kind of power over someone else. As strong as Fang tried to come off, she was clearly fragile under the surface, as her musings confirmed. Reading them often felt like what Lightning imagined silent screaming would sound like. The woman had been hurting for so long. Lightning knew the hope that Fang must be feeling now that she knew she wasn't crazy and even though Fang had never actually said anything about it, Lightning could feel her own internalized pressure to live up to Fang's expectations clawing madly at her. She knew what Fang would want now. It was clear as day. She would want her, and Lightning wasn't sure she could give her what she wanted. She had never been in love. She didn't know love from a hole in the ground. She couldn't promise Fang something she didn't even know she was capable of.

Lightning was always a confident person. She would choose a path and follow it, consequences be damned, but she wasn't sure where to go from here. She was Fang's doctor. She needed to figure out exactly what this was, and while she liked Fang, she was charming and attractive, and somehow, she didn't annoy her like most people did, she wasn't sure she could reciprocate Fang's feelings, and she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to love her on the same level that Fang loved her. The relationship they had here was off balance. Lightning hardly knew the woman, while Fang knew everything there was to know about her. Lightning often imagined that love was like a good fight. Each opponent had to be on the same level to make it last. She glanced at the boxes beside her desk again. They were clearly not on the same level.

Lightning took a pen in her fingers and fiddled with it in thought. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Fang. She didn't want to cause her any more pain. Reading over her thoughts, Lightning felt closer to Fang. She knew the power she held over her, and she couldn't imagine what Fang would go through if the real Lightning in this world, were to reject her. She was never good at the emotional things in life, and now she was faced with a situation that relied on her emotional abilities. Either she would fall in love with Fang too, and all would work out well, or she wouldn't, and then... What would happen to Fang? Lightning couldn't guarantee her that all would work out in the end and even though nothing had even started, already Lightning feared how it might end.

The woman groaned inwardly to herself and reminded herself that she had no responsibility to live up to Fang's expectations. She was Fang's doctor. She had a responsibility to the woman's health and well being, but that didn't mean she had to fall in love with her. She certainly cared for her but learning to fall in love was never covered in her schooling.

She glanced to the time again and then to one of the smaller stacks of paper on her desk, debating if she should continue reading or head home for the night, but once again the papers won out. She felt a small pang of guilt as she picked up another paper. Her other patients had certainly been put on the back burner in her mind ever since Fang's unique circumstances had come into her life, but she couldn't help herself. There was a curiosity that begged to be fed.

She could tell upon picking up the paper that it was a story. Fang's recounting of memories flowed much easier on the page than her own thoughts and feelings. Those were often sporadic and scratched out in many places. The stories were more calmly written, and unlike the journal writings, they weren't always filled with pain. They were simply memories Fang had, that she wrote down in order to preserve. They were often just moments in time. Glimpses at the lives they had shared together. Lightning still wasn't entirely sure what to think of it all. It was so hard to believe, but what other choice did she have? And even though she wouldn't admit it out loud, or even just silently to herself, some of the stories stirred in her a soft and comforting feeling that wasn't at all unwelcomed.

With each paper she read, she gained just a little more insight into who Fang was, and in an unexpected way, she had learned more about herself too. When she had read one of the stories where Fang had gone into detail about a lazy night under the stars, she felt a yearning to experience it first hand. Fang would surely tell her she had, but that she just didn't remember. The stories taught her that if she took martial arts, she could place in national events. She had always enjoyed running and physical activity in general, but she had never thought to try martial arts. They also taught her that her stubbornness was nothing new. She had always been and would always be stubborn, despite Serah believing that Lightning was just being difficult for the sake of being difficult. She had learned more about herself in the 48 hours after Fang had been admitted than she had in the last 10 years. It was overwhelming to say the least, but at the same time, a whole world of possibilities seemed to open in front of her. Personal doubts and fears washed away after reading about another Lightning in another time or alternate world overcoming those same doubts and fears.

She glanced at the time again, pursed her lips and continued on, letting her eyes run across Fang's writing, and losing herself to the early hours of the morning.

By mid afternoon the next day, Lightning was nearly asleep at her desk. She had spent most of the night reading and taking in the paintings Fang had made over the years and had neglected her body's constant nagging for sleep. She had too much to think about to sleep. Even after she had finally put down the papers, ready to head home and get a small nap in before doing it all over again, she couldn't sleep. She simply laid in bed going over everything in her head. It had taken it's toll on her and her early morning appointments suffered from it.

She felt guilty as she tapped a pen against her notepad. Her patients from that morning had clearly not had her full attention. One of them, sensing his doctor's distraction, had an outburst. He yelled at her, accusing her of not caring and ignoring him, and she tried to calm him down, but before she could, security, having heard the outburst, had already barged in and sedated him.

She rubbed at her temple. She made a mental note to never let that happen again. She wanted her patients to feel that they could trust her. She had been treating George for six months and she was certain that he would never trust her again now. There was a responsibility she had to simply listen and she had failed that on the most basic level. Instead she had been writing notes on her pad of paper concerning Fang. Making bullet points of things she wanted to discuss with her during her own appointment. She let her mind leave the room and abandoned the young man in front of her who already suffered from paranoia. If anything, she was sure she had just made his paranoia worse.

There was so much she wanted to know, the bullet points on the page reflecting that. Some were things she needed to address, simply as a professional. She needed to be sure Fang was in no danger of harming herself again and to be sure she was comfortable with Lightning being her doctor. Most of the points however, were simply for curiosity's sake.

There was a brief knock at her door and before she could even tell the person to come in, Fang had already poked her head in the doorway, smiling at her. "Hey doc!"

Lightning smiled back and motioned her into her office. She was a few minutes early for her appointment, but Lightning had already figured she would be. It was clear that Fang wanted to be around her as much as possible. It was almost as if she were afraid that if she looked away, when she looked back, Lightning might not be there.

"I brought you something." Fang said holding two chocolate bars in her hand. "Or I guess more accurately, Vanille brought you something."

Fang sat down in the big comfy chair that sat across the desk from Lightning and handed her one of the bars. Lightning smiled softly, taking the chocolate bar and trying but failing to read the Pulsian script across the packaging. "What is it?"

"You never had it?" Fang's eyes lit up. She knew Lightning loved them and now she had the privilege to be the one to introduce her to the best chocolate bars in the world... again.

"I don't... think so?" Lightning said turning the package over in her hand, trying to recognize it.

"It's called Microchew. You know... like those little walnut things that are a right pain in the ass? It's great, you'll love it, I promise." Fang grinned when Lightning arched a brow at her.

"You know I will?" Lightning sensed that this wasn't the first time Fang had experienced sharing Microchew bars with her and her suspicions were confirmed when Fang simply responded with a knowing wink.

Lightning couldn't help the small laugh at Fang's smug wink and motioned to the chaise chair that ran along the side of her office. "Are you sure you don't want to sit there?"

Fang shook her head as she unwrapped her chocolate bar. "Nah, I don't want to feel like a patient... Don't get me wrong... I know I am. But, I don't want to feel like I am."

"Fair enough." Lightning followed Fang's lead and unwrapped the lumpy chocolate mass. She broke it in half, taking a look at what it was made up of, seeing mostly nuts and caramel, she felt her mouth water. When she placed it in her mouth she glanced up to find Fang eagerly watching her, waiting for her response. The chocolate bar hit her all at once and she immediately felt herself melt back into her chair, savouring the taste, while pretending not to hear Fang chuckling at her. She felt her cheeks warm in slight embarrassment at her own reaction and eased her way back into a more respectable composition all the while ignoring Fang's pleased expression.

"Have you uh..." Fang paused slightly, motioning to the boxes that still sat beside Lightning's desk. "You read all of those?"

Lightning swallowed her mouthful, "Not all of it. There's... a lot to get through. But yes, I've been reading as much as I can."

Fang nodded her head slightly, putting a small bite of her own chocolate bar in her mouth while trying not to grimace. "Sorry about the smut."

Lightning felt her cheeks warm at the mention of some of the dirtier stories she had come across while going through the boxes. If she wanted to lie to herself, she would claim that she didn't want to know about her and Fang's past sexual exploits and would have simply tucked the papers away and started in on a new one. But every time she came across one of the smut filled writings, her eyes would continue to read each word on the page. She had told herself that she was simply reading it as an academic, and reasoned that she had read all of the stories before and it would be childish to skip the smutty ones simply because they contained adult situations. A part of her knew it was a lie, and that she truly wanted to know what they had gotten up to, what they were into and maybe even what she could learn from the other Lightnings. She could feel her cheeks grow warmer by the second and cleared her throat.

"No, it's okay. It's completely understandable." She bit back her embarrassment and let her training take over. She needed to be professional, even though the very mention of the materials had put some of the more vivid images Fang had described, back in her head.

Fang gave a small smile in return letting the smallest laugh out in the process. There was an adoring look in her eyes at Lightning's predictable response. Catching herself and not wanting to make Lightning too uncomfortable she bit her lip and glanced away. It didn't go unnoticed by Lightning.

"Fang? Are you okay with me being your doctor?"Fang looked up quickly at the question, slightly confused.

"Yeah, of course. I wouldn't want anyone else." She paused, closed her eyes and grimaced slightly, "... to be my doctor."

Fang was as transparent as the wind and Lightning felt the heaviness of pity fill her stomach but nodded anyway. "If this becomes too difficult, we can stop and I can have another doctor-"

"No!" Fang caught her outburst and straightened in her chair, stretching her back muscles in an attempt to rid the awkwardness from her. "No... It's. I want this."

Lightning watched her patient cautiously for a moment, remembering how their last meeting had gone. Fang had poured out so much to Lightning. Telling her much of what she already knew from reading her writings. Fang had sounded so desperate to tell Lightning everything. She had so much she wanted to say to her over the years and suddenly she had the chance. But even given the chance, she held back, afraid that if she were too open, she might scare Lightning away. Instead Lightning had watched her struggle to talk without saying too much, she watched the pained expressions that passed Fang's face every time she forced herself not to indulge or stopped herself from reaching out to touch Lightning. It was too much for her and at multiple times, Lightning caught Fang biting her lip in order to force herself not to cry.

"Okay." Lightning offered a small but genuine smile. If this was what she wanted, then Lightning would try to help her. Lightning paused a moment, setting her chocolate bar down and leaning forward on her desk, making it clear she was being serious with Fang. "I know this is difficult for you. I know there are... expectations-"

"No... I..." Fang looked down and shut her mouth... She couldn't, or wouldn't lie to Lightning. There were expectations... She understood that Lightning didn't owe her anything, but she figured the universe did for torturing her for so long.

Lightning waited to see if Fang would finish her sentence but when she didn't, she continued. "I can't promise you anything. I will be your doctor and I will help you as best I can but... there are limitations to how far this relationship will extend."

Fang continued to stare down, almost through Lightning's desk trying not to hurt and nodded her head softly. "Yeah..." she finally breathed out painfully. She would have to trust the universe would pay her back.

Lightning looked down guiltily when she heard Fang's soft voice nearly crack on the single word. "I need to know that you're really okay with this, Fang. If you at any point feel the need to self harm then-"Fang looked up suddenly and Lightning paused.

"I wont. I... I'm not crazy. I know that now. I'm not... I'm not going anywhere now." Her eyebrows pulled together, pleading for Lightning to believe her. She had found Lightning after all these years... She couldn't imagine abandoning this life now and she hoped that Lightning believed her.

"Okay, Fang." Lightning's expression relaxed and softened causing a similar reaction in Fang who leaned back in her chair a bit, comfortable enough breath easier again. "Why don't we start somewhere easy..." Lightning started, cocking her head to the side a little to catch Fang's eyes, "When did these memories start?"

Fang's eyebrows came together in thought and she glanced around the room as she tried to remember any one instance where Lightning had first entered her mind. "As far as I can tell, they've always been there. You're one of my first memories."

Lightning arched a brow, "Can you tell me about that?"

Fang gave a small laugh and scratched the back of her head, "I... think the first memory I had, I remember we were playing with some bugs we had caught and you got mad at me for putting one down the back of Serah's shirt and making her cry..." Lightning put her thumb and index finger against her forehead and pressed lightly, trying not to laugh, "It's a little fuzzy... but the memories I have of us when we were younger are always harder to remember."

Lightning regained her composure, "How old were we in this memory?"

"... maybe five? I think?"

"Did you know what the memories were?"

"At that point? No. I remember I was really confused for a long time. Even when I was younger I had memories of us when we were older. It's... odd to know what you will look like when you grow up... it's still weird." Fang made a face.

"You have memories of that too?" Lightning arched a brow.

"Yeah, I know a lot of... strange things. When... or I guess if, I make it to 85, I'll get Alzheimer's... and start to forget you." Fang pursed her lips slightly, chancing a glance at Lightning to find her nod, prompting her to continue. "For the most part, you'll be in good health. Sometimes things go south... but you're usually okay..." Lightning actually looked slightly relieved and Fang noticed. She knew what was going through her head. "You don't have to worry about the cancer, Light."

Lightning met her eyes sharply and stiffened slightly. "... and _Serah_?"

Fang looked down again, biting her lip, "... Just make sure she gets her regular check ups. Just in case... Catch it early."

Lightning felt a small pang in her chest at the confirmation. Their mother had passed away from the disease when Lightning was fifteen. From then on, she had always feared the cancer would take Serah from her next, and it was crushing to hear that Serah would quite possibly have to endure the same pain their mother had. "How uh... How often does she get it?" Lightning knew that she was supposed to be asking Fang questions to help Fang, but she needed to know this one thing.

"Maybe once every three lives?" Fang winced slightly as she said it. She hated to be the one to tell Lightning that her Serah could end up just like her mother, but she also knew that a warning could be a game changer and didn't regret voicing her knowledge.

"Right..." Lightning made a note on her pad of paper, reminding her to call Serah and make her get an appointment. She took a deep breath in and concentrated her efforts back on Fang. She would worry about Serah later and concentrate on what she could do now, in the moment. "What other ways have your memories influenced this life?" Lightning asked curiously.

"To be honest, I've made a point not to try to change the world too much. I've done it before and it's not always a good thing."

Lightning knitted her eyebrows together, "War of Transgression..."

Fang sat up straighter, alarmed as a chill ran down her spine. "How did you know that?" The war of Transgression had never happened in this world. Coccoon and Gran Pulse, while not always on the same level, were able to come together and form a peace treaty that had lasted hundreds of years. The timeline was completely different.

"You told me yesterday." Lightning said arching a brow at Fang's confusion.

"No, I didn't," Fang said studying Lightning's eyes, for what; Lightning wasn't sure.

Lightning shook her head slightly. She could have sworn... "I... I must have read it." She pressed her fingers to her temples for a minute, warding off a slight head ache.

Fang continued to watch her. She was almost certain she had written nothing of the War of Transgression... For the most part, she hardly remembered it. She remembered going to the Fal'cie Anima, and she remembered killing a number of Anima's priests, Vanille stepping in to save her from being executed and venturing off to fulfill their focus, but everything else... was a blur. She was almost certain that Lightning shouldn't know about it. How could she?

Lightning looked up, seeing Fang's eyes on her intently and stopped rubbing her temples, instead looking at Fang with a confused stare of her own. "What is it?"

Fang leaned in closer, studying Lightning, merely a foot from Lightning's face, making Lightning slightly uncomfortable under Fang's intense scrutiny. Lightning breathed in and caught the scent of wildflowers from Fang and felt the world go white around her.

Fang watched in worry as Lightning seemed to freeze in place, and her pupils contracted to pin points. He body sat rigid and unmoving, unresponsive to her surroundings. "Lightning?"

* * *

"Lightning?" Lightning's vision was filled with a blinding light. She cringed at the pain and moved her gaze to the side, realizing she had been staring at the sun. _What... Where...?_ Lightning couldn't speak, but the thoughts passed through her mind as her body fought against her, it moved on it's own and she heard her own voice speak as if her body was another person, and she were merely trapped inside looking out.

"Yeah?" She was in a field. An incredibly green field, filled with wild flowers. Wildflowers that smelled of Fang. Somewhere on Gran Pulse. Laying in the grass, looking up at Coccoon and the sun that sat just around it's edge. _What's going on...? Why can't I speak? _Lightning fought to speak, to move and found only resistance. Frustration passed over her, like trying to run in a dream and going no where. _Is this a dream?_

Her body turned on it's side without her prompting, setting it's head on her palm. _Fang?_ Fang was lying beside her in the grass, watching her with intense and loving eyes, a bemused smile on her lips. "I told you not to stare at it..." _Stare at what? The sun?_ Lightning asked internally. _How did I get here... Where are we?_

"You're not the boss of me." She heard her own voice say and Fang grinned more at her.

"If you went blind, how would you ever enjoy my face again? I can't let that happen." Fang joked. _Fang, what's going on?_ Lightning tried desperately to ask, trapped silently in her body.

She felt her hand reach out and cup Fang's face softly, her thumb traced along the soft skin before she felt her body press into Fang's own, her lips firmly pressed to the other woman's. She could taste Fang in her mouth, feel her fingers slipping into her hair as she pulled her face closer, deepening the kiss. Lightning stayed silent in her head, watching the scene unfold in confusion. She felt everything vividly, but had no control over what happened and so, simply let it happen. The kiss lasted a long time, soft, gentle, not at all what she thought it should feel like, somehow better. The scene started to lighten again into a blinding white light until once again, she could no longer see.

* * *

"Light, hey... Hey come on now." Lightning felt a hand on her cheek, lightly tapping against her skin. She clenched her eyes closed tightly and cringed. She heard Fang breath a sigh of relief and felt Fang press her fore head to her own briefly before realizing what she was doing and pulling away. "You okay, Light?"

Lightning opened her eyes, glancing around the room, aware that she was once again fully in control of her body and back in her office. "I'm back?"

"Where did you go just now? You just... completely zoned out..." Fang still held Lightning's face in her hands, lightly stroking the skin as if to make sure she was okay.

"I... Uh..." Lightning knitted her eyebrows together, meeting Fang's gaze. She placed her hands over Fang's, and slowly guided them away from her cheeks. Fang bit her lip and withdrew slightly, giving Lightning her space.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just um..." Lightning let herself breath through her mouth, feeling she needed the air. She was at a loss of words for what had just happened. It was as if she had stepped out of time for a brief moment. She couldn't explain it, and if she were to be honest with herself, it scared her. She blinked her eyes a few times and shook her head, pushing the fear away and putting up a defense in it's place. "I didn't get much sleep last night, just... feeling the effects of it now." She rubbed at her temples again, feeling them throbbing with pain. She sucked her lips and swallowed, regaining her composure. "I'm fine. Really."

Fang eyed her suspiciously. She knew Lightning well enough to know that was a lie, but also knew enough to not press it. "Maybe you should take the hour to have a nap?" Fang suggested. Of course she wanted to spend the hour talking to Lightning, really spending it with her, but Lightning's well being would always come first.

"It's okay, Fang. Really." Lightning tried to reassure her. She had already stepped out on one patient, she wasn't about to do the same to Fang. "Um, I'm going to have some tea... Would you like one?" She pushed up from her chair making her way to the small counter in the corner of her office where she had a small coffee/tea maker set up. She told herself that it was the lack of sleep, that the tea would help wake her up, make her feel better.

"Uh... Yeah sure." Fang watched Lightning from her seat. Curiously analyzing her, looking for a tell, needing to know what happened. She watched as Lightning filled two mugs with tea, and went about preparing them. She knitted her eyebrows as she watched Lightning pour one packet of sugar into one, and three into the other with a single cream.

Lightning stopped herself as she poured the last of the cream into the second mug. _What am I doing?_ She placed her hand to her temples again. "Um... How do you like your tea?" She placed both hands on the counter trying to catch her breath.

"...Exactly like that." Fang said from just behind Lightning, causing her to jump slightly. She hadn't noticed that Fang had gotten up when she had caught what Lightning was absent mindedly doing.

Lightning turned to Fang, a fear and confusion clear in her eyes. Fang scanned her closely again, watching her eyes, ducking her head slightly to keep eye contact as Lightning tried to discretely look away. Lightning didn't know what was happening, and instinctively tried to hide it.

"You're... remembering... aren't you?" Fang asked, watching as Lightning flinched slightly at the question.

"I... I don't... " Lightning didn't finish her sentence but looked up to meet Fang's intense stare.

_"Come on, Lightning. You don't want to miss this!"_

_"The meteor shower isn't going anywhere, Fang. Slow down."_

Lightning stood silently. Hearing her and Fang's voices run through her head as if someone had pressed play on a recording. Her hands trembled and she backed into the counter, nearly knocking over the mugs of tea. Her eyes stayed on Fang's own green eyes.

_"I dreamt about this, you know?"_

_"About this? Why?"_

_"What do you mean why? Because I love you." A laugh._

"Lightning?"

_"Bahamut."_

_"You... You named a wolf?" A silence._

"Light...?"

_"Hey, you're going to be okay, Fang..."_

_"Don't lie, Light..."_

_"You will..." A choking sob._

"Hey... Come on..."

Lightning took a sharp breath in when Fang's hands once again cupped her cheeks and felt her heart rate pick up to an incredible speed. She breathed hard feeling as if she had just run a marathon as her attention snapped back to the moment. She met Fang's concerned eyes and like an all consuming wave, was drowning in them. Emotions boiled to the surface and erupted in a fury in her mind. She had always felt a compassion for Fang but now... She stood looking at Fang, and for the first time, she really saw Fang. Fang for all she is and all she ever was. Everything was there in her eyes, and it pushed and pulled at Lightning. An undying love for her was present that hadn't been there before, and it was... Familiar. It all felt familiar. It was like going home. She knew this woman, inside and out, and she loved her.

Lightning felt tears welling up in her eyes and Fang pulled her close to her chest, cradling Lightning's face in her neck. "It's okay... You're okay." Fang stroked her hair softly as she held her tight to her chest, and Lightning couldn't help but to fist her hands into Fang's patient scrubs, letting herself be held, letting the familiar feelings wash over her like a song once forgotten and heard again. She felt the tears spill over and didn't try to stop them. This was Fang... This was _her_ Fang.

She pushed back from Fang, needing to see her eyes again, needing to drown. Fang let her.

Lightning tentatively touched Fang's face, slowly, testing. Needing to know that this was real, this was happening and it wasn't just in her head. She could see it in the way Fang looked at her, Fang knew what was happening, just as much as she did. She was remembering. She was remembering it all. Every life they had lived together, every moment they had fallen in love, every death that separated them again. It was all there, hanging in the air between them. All crashing back to her in a moment. Lifetimes of memories overwhelming her, and flashing through her mind as she looked into Fang.

Lightning felt the sudden need to really feel Fang. To once again feel that familiar closeness that she knew and remembered but had yet to experience. She took a moment longer to look into Fang's eyes, to drink her in. She knew her now, she knew her intimately. Running her hands up the sides of Fang's neck and coming to hold her face just behind her ears; it was comfortable, familiar. She pulled her down, pressing their lips together and searing the moment into another vivid memory. A kiss practiced thousands of times, and yet experienced for the first.


	6. The Wolf in the Ashes Part 2

****The Wolf in the Ashes. Part 2. 30 000 BF.****

"Water."

"Wate'."

"Water."

"Wate'."

Lightning paused and pursed her lips lightly before shaking her head. "Okay... Let's try something else." She glanced around quickly, before motioning to Fang's spear. "Spear."

"Spea'."

Lightning sighed slightly, and held back the small smile threatening to take over her. While similar, the words always sounded lazy when the wolf said them. For days the two traveled together, trying to communicate with each other with very little success. They taught each other some basic words but most of them were forgotten when they went onto the next word. Only a few simple words stuck in either's mind. They couldn't communicate well verbally, but there was an understanding the two found came easily to them through small looks or gestures.

Fang paused at a fork in the cave they were traveling through for just a moment before deciding on a path and motioning for Lightning to follow her. "I hope you know where you're going..." Lightning said as she followed the wolf, her torch in hand, casting dark shadows on the black rock of the cave walls.

Fang had lead her back the way Lightning had come almost four days worth of walking before taking her into a cave formation along a dark rock face. Lightning hadn't even considered the cave when she first passed it but now they were, by her estimate, a days worth of walking into the cave. It was a nice change of pace, walking on solid dirt instead of ash. The white ash that had coated her feet for weeks had finally worn away and was once again replaced with the dirt she was used to.

As they walked, Lightning could hear the distinct sound of running water, and breathed a small sigh of relief. The water had to go somewhere, meaning Fang hadn't gotten them lost. Fang turned toward Lightning before saying something in her wolf words and motioning to a very narrow crack in the cave wall. She motioned with her chin, encouraging Lightning to squeeze through the crack.

Lightning rose a single eyebrow at the wolf before shuffling through the narrow space. She had to shuffle a few feet along the cool rocks to reach the other side, and when she came out the other side, she paused a moment taking in her surroundings. The cave had opened up into a large hallow area, with a fast flowing stream running along side it. There was a fire pit that had been constructed not far from the stream that Lightning could tell had been used many times before. It conveniently had a large pile of wood and dry brush set to the side, more than enough to last a good couple days of a constant burning fire, and a very large and matted fur pelt was sprawled out in the centre of the cave. Lightning wondered briefly what kind of animal could produce a pelt that large. Even the beast she had fought didn't look big enough. The roof of the cave was higher than it had been on the other side of the wall, and a very weak beam of light shown in from a tiny crack in the ceiling, just above where the fire pit sat.

Fang shuffled through the opening a moment later, once again saying something in her melodic wolf words, before placing her spear against the cave wall. She grinned at Lightning with her wolfish smile as she watched Lightning admire the area. She quickly made her way to the fire pit and went about making a fire. She placed her wood and kindling into the small pit and set it ablaze with her torch before snuffing her torch in the accompanying stream.

The cave immediately lit up in a bright glow, revealing the paintings that were covering the walls. Lightning smiled to herself getting closer to the walls with her torch to inspect the markings. There were dozens of hand prints of all different sizes along the walls. Lightning guessed that they were all from members of Fang's tribe, and if that were the case, the woman was part of a rather big tribe. She moved along the walls looking over the handprints and the drawings of humans hunting animals. The drawings reminded her of the drawings her own sister liked to make, and she let a smile take over her. She found hope in the drawings.

She felt a tension in her shoulders dissipate that she hadn't realized was there before. She had been worrying for weeks about her people. Their lives were entrusted to her and she knew that failure was not an option. There were some things in life you just do. She took a chance when Fang had found her. The morning after they had met, she tried her best to explain to Fang what she was trying to do. She drew pictures in the ash covered ground with her fingers of people, made gestures with her hands, clasping her fingers together in what she thought Fang might understand as a symbol of unity and strength. It had taken a long time to convey her message to the other woman, and by the time she was done, there was still no way to know for sure that Fang had actually understood her, but looking at the hand prints on the wall showed her they were on the right track. Fang was taking her to her home, and if all went well and Fang's people didn't kill her, perhaps there was a future for her own tribe with them.

Lightning turned from the wall to watch the wolf poke at the fire, and a slight smile graced her lips. Despite not being able to understand each other's words, the two seemed to get along very well and could read each other like they had known each other for years. Lightning even found that Fang annoyed her less than most people, making traveling with the strange woman very easy. She figured it was mostly due to the wolf's competence. She never had to worry about taking care of her and it was a nice change from her responsibility to her tribe. In fact, it would be more correct to say that Fang worried more about Lightning than the other way around. The wolf made sure Lightning was well fed and took plenty of breaks to allow Lightning to redress the wounds she had suffered from the beast Fang had called a "bea'."

"Lightnin'," Fang's voice echoed off the cavern walls as the wolf tried to get her attention, making Lightning realize she had been staring.

"... Fang." Lightning replied and glanced back to the wall filled with bright red and white stenciled hand prints.

Fang grinned and made her way over to the wall, all the while watching Lightning's face, studying the smaller woman's interest in the cave wall. She cocked an eyebrow and went about pulling a few pouches from a larger leather pouch tied to her waist. She poured a small amount of white powder into her palm, that Lightning recognized. It came from the grinding of certain rocks, and depending on the rock, would yield different colours from red, white, and black. It was what her sister used to paint on their tribe's shelters.

Lightning cocked a curious brow as she watched Fang blow some of the powder onto the cave wall, making a white circle. She patted the rest of the powder from her hand and poured another small pouch into her hand, leaving a small, bright red pile of powder. She turned to Lightning and gave her wolfish smile before taking Lightning's left hand with her free hand and placed Lightning's hand flush against the cool rock face. Lightning realized then what Fang was doing and let a small smile cross her lips as she watched Fang gently blow the red powder over her hand, leaving Lightning's own hand print in the midst of the others.

Lightning felt a small hitch in her chest. It had been so long since she was allowed to relax and in that moment, Fang had made her smile. For the first time in weeks, she genuinely felt like things were going to be okay. She owed so much to the wolf woman already, the food and care. Those were things she knew she could reciprocate in time given an opportunity but the feeling in her chest of grateful happiness she felt, she didn't know how she would repay her for that. She stood with her hand in place on the wall, reveling in the feeling for a moment. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment when she felt something warm over her pinky finger. She opened her eyes again, seeing Fang had placed her right hand onto the imprint next to hers, that Lightning's own now slightly overlapped. Fang's hand matched the silhouette perfectly and Lightning realized the wolf had placed her hand next to her own.

Lightning looked to her left, catching Fang's eye for the first time since she had joined her at the wall. There was a softness in her expression that Lightning felt warm her from the inside out. Fang looked to be trying to memorize Lightning's eyes, enamored by the almost crystal clear colour of them. After a moment the softness washed away into a full blown grin and Fang pulled her hand away, ran a thumb through the red powder left in her hand and smeared a red line across the bridge of Lightning's nose, making Lightning pull her face back slightly at the unexpected gesture.

Fang stepped back a foot and seemed to admire her handiwork. Lightning almost couldn't help the smallest of laughs from escaping her mouth. She shook her head slightly and gave Fang a look before dropping her own hand from the wall and admiring the silhouette it left in it's stead. It was slightly smaller than Fang's but it was fresher and more vibrant. She looked back to Fang and felt that hitch in her chest again. "Thank you, Fang."

She was met by a small eyebrow raise when the words weren't understood but she paid it no mind. After a few days she had grown accustomed to Fang's confused looks. She wasn't sure they would ever fully understand each other but she was glad to have the wolf by her side.

Fang gave one last toothy grin before turning back to the fire and sitting down next to it, prodding at the burning wood with her spear. Small wisps of smoke and embers raised from the fire and danced in the air around Fang and Lightning let herself smile softly at the sight before turning to the stream.

She crouched beside the running water and placed her fingers into it, testing the temperature, surprised to find it nearly warm. She Immediately started to scoop the water up in her hands and rub it against her skin, washing away days worth of dirt and ash. With each scoop of water she started to feel human again. Had Fang not been there with her, Lightning would have stripped down and sat right in the water, being sure to clean every inch of herself but the very thought of doing so made her blush slightly.

Fang chuckled from behind her and Lightning paused in her cleaning, turning a curious glance over her shoulder, looking to see what Fang found funny. Her eyes widened when Fang began to strip off her various pelts, tossing them into a pile on the ground. Lightning averted her eyes, not wanting to invade the other woman's privacy. She concentrated on the water in front of her, forcing herself to continue her grooming.

Soon after she heard the distinct sound of interrupted water as Fang had walked into the stream beside her and sat down in the running waters. The entire time, she talked in her wolf words about something. She sounded surprisingly comfortable, no nervousness betrayed her, despite her nudity. She suddenly stopped talking when she looked to Lightning who was looking to the side and covering her eyes with her hand. Fang cocked another confused look at the woman, not understanding her sense of modesty.

"Lightnin'!" She grinned, and splashed water at the woman, catching her attention and forcing her to unshield her eyes. Lightning apprehensively glanced at Fang, trying not to stare at the woman's nakedness. Fang cocked her head in a gesture that clearly meant for Lightning to join her and Lightning bit her lip nervously, not knowing how to react.

The last time Lightning had seen anyone in the nude, it had been her sister, and they had been children swimming in the shallows of the nearby river. They had grown since then and were taught to cover themselves. Her tribe was very modest, but now she sat crouched along a stream just an arms length away from a strange naked woman who obviously had very little qualms about revealing herself.

She pursed her lips for a second before realizing again that Fang had been following her for days and had probably already seen her in the nude. She felt her cheeks grow warm at the thought. She sighed and quickly glanced to Fang again who sat patiently in the water, watching her and waiting for a response. She let out a quick puff of air, stood up, and began to remove her own pelts, though she turned from Fang before hand.

"Don't look..." Lightning mumbled more to herself, knowing full well Fang wouldn't understand her anyway.

Fang let out a pleased laugh following Lightning's resignation and Lightning had to push past the initial embarrassment as she kicked off the last of her pelts and cautiously made her way into the stream, all too aware of the wolf's eyes following her.

She sat in the water and hugged her knees to her chest before giving a cautionary glance at the wolf woman beside her. Fang, for her part, grinned with satisfaction and stretched her strong body out, having no such reservations. Lightning bit her lip and cleared her throat nervously, trying not to watch. She went about scooping water onto her body again, cleaning the bite wound on her arm and pretending to be too busy to notice Fang's nakedness beside her.

Not long after, she heard Fang shift in the waters, sliding up next to her and Lightning froze. "... Fang... What are you-" Lightning paused mid sentence feeling water being poured over her back and shoulders as Fang went about washing her. She didn't move, didn't protest, she simply sat frozen in the water, feeling Fang's warm hands on her bare skin. It was a strange feeling. Not entirely unwelcome. She wanted to protest out of modesty, but stayed still, letting herself experience the sensation. It was surprisingly calming and after a moment she felt her muscles start to relax. She no longer hugged her knees, though she still refused to stretch her body out like Fang had, keeping some form of modesty.

Lightning took in a long breath and sighed slightly, a small moan escaping her lips as Fang's hands rubbed down her shoulder blades, taking with them days worth of ash and dirt. It was odd to feel so close to someone, comfortable enough to let someone touch her naked body, but also comforting and... exciting?

Fang talked the entire time, softly, melodically. A few words Lightning caught. The word that Fang used for water being one, and something about ash. She could guess what she was talking about, but didn't think too much on it. She closed her eyes and secretly basked in the comfort Fang was giving her. When Fang had stopped, Lightning's eyes opened again and she glanced over her shoulder wondering why. Fang sat smiling, almost admiring her work as her eyes roamed over the expanse of clean skin in front of her and Lightning felt her blush coming back. She turned her gaze back to the waters in front of her and instead focused on how the fire light bounced off of the running water. The view was short lived, however, as Fang slid up in front of Lightning, exposing her own back to her as she waited for Lightning to return the favour.

"Right..." Lightning said, swallowing her embarrassment as she went about scooping up handfuls of water and went about washing Fang in return. She hadn't expected the wolf's skin to be as warm as it was, it was somewhat surprising. Her skin was warm, soft and taut and Lightning very quickly found she enjoyed the feeling of it under her hands. She immediately felt closer to Fang. She couldn't understand her words, but she felt the trust, the compassion and the ease between them more clearly in that moment. She had never been so exposed with another person before, or another so exposed with her, and despite the vulnerability they showed to one another there was a great comfort in the act.

Lost in her own thoughts, Lightning lightly trailed her fingers down Fang's spine, stopping when she felt the body shiver under her touch. Her face flushed and she pulled her hand away. "Sorry... Um... You're clean." Fang glanced over her shoulder, not understanding. "Umm.. Good. You're good."

"Good" was a word Lightning had already taught her, and Fang took the meaning before smiling and going about finishing up her bath. Lightning bit her lip and let a huff of air out. She glanced at Fang who paid her no mind as she poured water over her head and found herself tempted to touch the other woman's skin again. She already missed the warmth. Lightning sighed and shook her head, making an effort to quickly finish her bath and remove herself from the strange new temptation.

Before long, the two women were again covered in pelts and had made their way onto the large animal hide that laid beside the fire, ready to sleep before continuing on. Lightning tried hard to ignore the body beside hers, but found it difficult so she turned on her side, away from Fang. She couldn't sleep with Fang so close and yet... so far. Her eyebrows pulled together at the thought and she glanced over her shoulder to where Fang was sprawled out. She could see with the firelight that Fang was still awake, she laid rubbing her feet together in comfortable circles as she waited for sleep to come. As if feeling Lightning's eyes on her, Fang opened one eye to catch Lightning looking at her. Fang raised a brow as Lightning quickly turned back around, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she had been caught.

There was a light chuckle behind Lightning and some soft shuffling before Lightning felt Fang's body pull up snug behind her. Her own body stiffened at the feeling and the hair on the back of her neck prickled when she felt Fang's warm breath on her skin. Fang wrapped one arm around Lightning's waist and pulled her in close to her body, snuggling into the light pink hair before relaxing, ready for sleep. Lightning laid frozen for a few minutes, waiting to see if anything else was going to happen, and after a time finally started to relax into the warm hold. She felt she was ready to sleep.

The two women were on the move again after their sleep. Lightning felt surprisingly refreshed when she woke up, still tangled in Fang's warm arms. It had taken more effort than she figured it should have to actually get up, but her sister was relying on her, so she managed to pull away, effectively waking Fang in the process. They moved through the narrow cave passages for, what Lightning guessed, was about a quarter day. The entire time, the wolf talked to her and Lightning listened. She didn't understand, but she enjoyed the sound of her voice and she had let her mind wander back to what had happened farther back in the cave. They had grown close, closer than Lightning had to anyone before, and she couldn't even understand her. Lightning smiled softly to herself and let out a puff of air, she certainly hadn't gone out looking to find Fang but she was glad she had.

Fang continued to talk in her words and Lightning caught her name being said so she looked to where Fang was pointing with her spear, a grin on her face. There was a dull light in the distance, the end of the cave system, but what really caught Lightning's attention was the fact that there was light at all. It was almost a bright pink and it was hazy, but it was light. Actual light. Lightning looked to Fang and let herself smile before taking off into a run towards the light, leaving Fang laughing behind her and ignoring the slight pain in her leg.

She came to the entrance, scrambling up the loose rocks and stood in the light. It was hazy, but it was bright and she could see the sun through the ash in the sky for the first time in months. She felt her breath catch in her throat, she could see the land around her, cast in a bright magenta glow. The cave came out into a valley, cut deep into the mountains, it wasn't immune to the ash that destroyed Lightning's world, but it had defended well against it. Lightning could see lush vegetation growing along the mountain ridges, the first she had seen in a long time that weren't struggling to survive. This was it, this was where her tribe would live.

Fang came up beside her, smiling, obviously proud of herself. She watched Lightning scanning the world around her for a moment longer before saying something and tugging on Lightning's arm to keep her moving forward. Lightning obliged, following after the wolf into the dirt, noticing it was only slightly coated with ash. She could feel the dirt under her feet, and_ grass_... She stopped to crouch and rub the blades between her fingers. She was excited, she wanted to pluck up the blades and run back to her tribe and show Serah. Wanted to show her there was still hope.

Lightning smiled and looked up to where Fang was talking and walking and her face fell. A monstrous black wolf was charging for Fang, its huge paws kicking up the soil as it bounded down the grass lined path towards her. Lightning felt her body tense and reached for her knife, tugging it free. "Fang!" She pushed up from the soil with as much force as she could, charging back at the wolf, ready to defend Fang, who didn't seem to understand the graveness of their situation.

Fang glanced to Lightning, at hearing her name and her eyes grew, "Lightnin'! No!". Before Lightning could charge passed her, Fang grabbed her around the waist, tackling her to the dirt.

"Fang! What are you doing!? Get off! Fang!" Lightning struggled hard against Fang's hold, pushing at her, even hitting her in desperation as the wolf came down on them. "Fang!" As much as Lightning struggled, Fang's hold never loosened, Fang kept her grip tight, waiting for Lightning to stop.

"Lightning... No." Fang said again, calmly this time as Lightning opened her eyes, her teeth grinding together before confusion washed over her. The wolf wasn't attacking them... It was playfully trying to get Fang's attention, licking her face and pouncing on her. Fang nodded her chin towards the animal, "Good."

"What?" Lightning's struggling stopped and Fang, took the knife gently from her hand before untangling their bodies and letting Lightning up again. Lightning sat in confused silence as she watched Fang play with the wolf, ruffling the massive animal's thick fur as the wolf tackled Fang to the ground, its tail wagging in excitement. Lightning sighed, "Right... wolf people." She hadn't entirely believed the tales before but it was impossible to deny it now. She had never seen a wolf play with a human. Her own people had been killed by wolves before, and yet here was Fang, tussling playfully with one of them in the dirt.

Lightning took a moment to catch her breath, still uneasy around the animal. It had to weigh more than Fang and her combined, it's teeth could crush bone if the animal chose to do so. "Lightnin'." Fang reached out a hand to her as the wolf clambered over her, trying to play. Fang motioned with her hand again, waiting for Lightning to take it. Lightning had been taught her whole life to fear wolves, and she needed a moment to unlearn that fear. She very slowly and cautiously reached for Fang's hand, keeping her eyes on the black wolf. Fang took Lightning's hand slowly, trying not to startle her and pulled her closer.

Fang let out a soft, short whistle and the wolf stopped pouncing on her, and turned it's attention towards Lightning, Lightning jerked but Fang held tight to her hand, reassuring her. She pulled her hand slowly towards the wolf's face, letting the animal sniff her hand. Lightning tried not to let her hand shake, the only thing keeping it relatively steady was Fang's own firm grip on it. After a moment of sniffing, the wolf licked Lightning's hand, its tongue wet and warm and Lightning had to keep from cringing at the sensation as it ran between her fingers. When Fang was satisfied with their interaction, she let go of Lightning's hand and pushed the wolf closer to her, causing Lightning to jump a little, but graduate to actually petting the wolf's fur.

Lightning was in awe. He was so big, and beautiful in a terrifying sort of way. She had a strange respect for the animal that she couldn't quiet explain. She tentatively ran her fingers through his soft fur and instinctively scratched behind his ears, causing him to bounce slightly in his spot, eager to play again. Fang grinned as she watched them. "Bahamut." Fang pointed to the wolf when Lightning looked her way with a questioning look. She repeated again, "Bahamut."

"You...You named a wolf?" Lightning asked skeptically, but received no answer from Fang so turned her attention back to the wolf. "You're a big boy, aren't you Bahamut?" Upon hearing his name Bahamut pounced excitedly on Lightning, determined to lick her face like he had done to Fang earlier.

Fang laughed at the spectacle before giving another soft whistle and saving Lightning from his affectionate playing. With a snap of Fang's fingers, Bahamut sat up straight and stared at her, waiting for an order. Fang said something with her wolf words , snapped her fingers again and pointed, and Bahamut took off running. Lightning watched in amazement at the obedient wolf. "He understands you better than I do..."

Fang pressed a finger to her lips and hushed Lightning as she crouched down onto the path, her spear in hand, waiting.

"What are y-"

"Shh!" Fang gave Lightning a pointed look and Lightning shut her mouth, realizing that Bahamut also listened better than she did. So she followed Fang's lead and stayed low to the ground, and waited quietly. After a moment there was an ominous howling in the distance, and Fang cupped her hands to her mouth, imitating the sound back to Bahamut. Lightning watched on in a mix of awe and confusion at the exchange. She peaked her head up above the grass for a moment, searching for the reason they were hiding and Fang pushed her shoulders back down below the tall grass, giving her another pointed look.

After another moment, the distinct sound of hooves on dirt came down the path and Fang wet her lips. Bahamut was hot on the heals of a decent sized deer, nipping at it's hind legs and effectively guiding it in their direction. As the deer approached, Lightning watched in amazement as Fang speared the animal with a surprising amount of strength, speed, and accuracy, causing it to stubble to the ground motionless. She pulled the spear out and Bahamut came to a stop, sniffing the slain deer. Fang shoed him away and threw the deer up onto her shoulder and kept walking down the path, Bahamut following closely at her side.

It had all happened so fast that Lightning could hardly comprehend it. Lightning watched, mouth slightly open for a moment before getting up and following after her. The two hunted so efficiently together, Lightning reasoned, that no one must ever go hungry in her tribe. Lighting realized they must be close to Fang's home if she was willing to carry the slain deer with them, and suddenly Lightning felt nervous. There was no way to know if they would treat her as well as Fang had, or that they would even be willing to share their land with her and her tribe. She jogged up next to Fang, making sure to stick close to her, Fang, she was sure, would protect her if she was not welcomed.

They walked down through the valley, Bahamut trotted along side Lightning, occasionally licking her fingers whenever she stopped scratching behind his ears. The trail forked and Fang took them to the right, leading down a narrower valley path and Lightning paused. There was soft smoke rising in the distance between some leather shelters. She could see people milling about, could hear voices carrying over the winds, amongst them, wolf calls. Fang grinned at Lightning, but her smile faded when she saw the apprehension on her companions face. "Lightnin'?".

Lightning shook her head, "I'm okay. Umm... Good. I'm good." Lightning reassured, and continued walking along side Fang.

Coming up on the small village, the people stopped what they were doing in order to watch and gossip about the strange new comer. Fang put one hand on Lightning's back in order to keep her moving under the gaze of her tribe. They were what Lightning had always pictured when her tribe elders spoke of the wolf people. Haphazard pelts strewn about their bodies, decorated with wolf teeth, and red marks on their faces just like Fang. Their skin and hair, darker too. A lot like Fang's, but varied slightly more than in her own tribe. There were a few amongst the crowd whose complexion was lighter, one with bright red hair came bounding towards them, talking excitedly in the same tongue as Fang.

She hugged onto Fang and when Fang ruffled her hair and went about handing the deer off to someone else, the girl then started to inspect Lightning. She looked fairly amazed by Lightning's presence, she played with Lightning's hair, comparing it to her own, then went on to blow on her feather covered shoulders, all the while giggling. Lightning for her part stayed still, not wanting to offend the tribe, and so, let the girl inspect her. The crowd had thickened, with people curious and excited at her presence, they mumbled amongst themselves, the word "Phantom" passing their lips multiple times. "Fang?" Lightning said under her breath, getting Fang's attention. "Phantom?"

Fang laughed. "You. You phantom." That didn't help Lightning much but she accepted it. "Vanille." Fang continued and pointed to the red haired girl who was now rubbing Lightning's white dear pelt on her cheek. "Vanille..." She paused and made a teetering motion with her hands as if to say "kind of", "phantom."

"... Right..." Lightning still wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but she figured it had to do with the lighter hair and skin that they had. Vanille looked like she could be a little bit wolf person and a little bit "phantom."

Fang reprimanded the girl she called Vanille, when she noticed that the small girl was trying to peak down into Lightning's pelts. Lightning flushed and crossed her arms across her chest to protect herself from the curious girl. She took the opportunity free of Vanille to study her surroundings. All the people were watching her curiously, some from their leather shelters, some from small fields, filled with various crops. Many of them had wolves at their sides, just like the stories... She realized that everything she had heard from the stories were true. They lived amongst the wolves, and wolves regarded them as superiors. Her grand dad had told her that they prayed on people who got lost in the forest and no one even knew what became of them, but Lightning could guess, that like her, they were brought back to their tribe. If she was right, she guessed Vanille's mother or father could have been one of the ones who had gone missing in the cautionary tales. She was pretty sure the cannibalism she had heard about wasn't true.. but she noticed a few hungry stares in the crowd.

Lightning stepped closer to Fang when a couple of large men, with hungry stares made their way towards them. They regarded her curiously, looking her up and down, appraising her. But when one went to touch her, Fang pushed him back. Lightning wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but before she knew it Fang and the one man were on each other, throwing punches and grappling with each other. Lightning looked around, trying to figure out what was happening but no one let on about the situation. She wanted to step in and protect Fang but didn't want to step out of bounds and anger the wrong person. Fang didn't seem to need the help anyway. With one strong kick to the mans chest, he fell back into the dirt, angry. Fang yelled at him and motioned to Lightning. A warning, Lightning guessed.

Fang gave the other man a pointed look and yelled at him too. She gestured to Lightning and showed him the small leather ornament Lightning had made and then to the wolf's teeth that Fang had given her that sat snug around her bicep. Lightning wasn't sure what trading their trinkets meant, but it was apparently of great importance in Fang's tribe. Lightning looked back and forth between Fang and the crowd as Fang took Lightning's hand and placed it against her breast bone before placing her own hand against Lightning's breast bone all the while talking about something.

Some of the people seemed to laugh at the men's expense, a few gasped and looked at the others in the tribe for their response to what ever it was Fang had told them , Vanille perked up and squealed.

"Agh, Vanille..." Fang said cringing at the sound. Lightning didn't quite know what was happening but she was acutely aware of Fang's heart beat under her fingertips. Her face flushed again.

"Come Lightnin'," Fang dropped her hand from Lightning's chest and lead her into the village, all the while ignoring the many looks they received. She lead her to a leather shelter and pulled back the flap on the front, letting Lightning enter and avoid the many stares she received. The shelter was filled with thick warm pelts of varying sizes and were arranged not unlike a birds nest. Lightning had never seen so many pelts and felt the urge to bury herself in them.

"Did you hunt all of these?" Lightning asked as she sat amongst the many warm soft furs but Fang simply raised an eyebrow at her.

"Vanille!" Fang called out of the shelter and the young red haired girl came running excitedly. She crawled into the shelter with them and Bahamut bounded in after her and flopped on his side next to Lightning, making sure to put his head in her lap.

Fang said something to Vanille and Vanille giggled in understanding. "Oh! Fang says you don't speak the old words."

Lightning stopped scratching Bahamut at the sound of words she recognized and lifted her head in shock. "You... You speak my words?"

"Some... My mother spoke it to me often as a child."

Lightning looked between Fang and Vanille, amazed and excited that she could finally communicate. Vanille's voice sounded different, it still held a melodic tone to it and the words came out softer when she spoke them, but she could understand her clearly.

"Was your mother a... phantom?"

Vanille nodded. "You would call it a spirit." She giggled when Lightning gave her a look. "Everyone is excited to see you. Phantoms are considered to bring much luck!"

"I'm... lucky?"

"Mmhmm."

Fang sat down beside Lightning and watched the exchange patiently as she took over scratching Bahamut for Lightning.

Lightning looked to Fang, "That's why you were following me...". Fang looked up and Vanille translated for her, causing Fang to laugh. Fang said something back and Vanille nodded.

"She says you have already brought her luck in hunting a bea'."

"Luck, huh? Your valley is cast in light with food and clean water. My tribe is struggling to survive. I don't know how much luck we can really be."

"They are spirits too? What tribe are you from?"

"We... we're not- " Lightning made a face. "We're people."

Vanille giggled again. "I know, silly! But you look like a spirit!"

"Right... I'm from Valhalla tribe."

Vanille gasped and clasped her hands, "My mother was from Eden tribe! She told me about Valhalla tribe! Do you still call us wolves?"

"Uh..." Lightning scratched the back of her head.

More giggling. "Always so scared of things you don't understand..."

"Are we welcome here?" Lightning chose not to argue, she would have lost anyway.

"Of course! Celebrations are already underway! Soon we will be one tribe!" Vanille clapped her hands excitedly.

"Celebrations?"

"Mmhmm! There will be song and dance. Lots of drinks. The village Elder will want to hold the ceremony herself when the sun starts to set behind the mountain!"

"... Right." Lightning looked to Fang who simply smiled at her.

"We had bette' hurry! It wont be long now!" She then spoke to Fang who nodded, and got up. She pulled Lightning to her feet and they left the shelter, making their way towards a huge roaring fire. It hadn't taken the tribe long to get it going but glancing at the magenta coloured sun through the ash, Lightning knew it was because the day was coming to an end soon. It would pass behind the mountains and be gone for the night long before the fire went out. Lightning squinted at the mountain side where the sun would set and her eyes widened slightly in awe. A large stone wolf was carved into the mountain side. She had not expected such art from Fang's people. It must have taken years to carve it, it was larger than anything Lightning had seen before.

The three of them took to sitting on the ground around the fire in a ring with the other members of the tribe. They all seemed to be watching Lightning intently and Lightning shifted nervously under their looks. "Here you go! This will get rid of the butterflies!" Vanille handed Lightning a small clay jug filled with liquid.

"What butterflies?" Lightning asked looking around for the offending bugs Vanille was referring to.

Vanille giggled again. "The ones in you' tummy, silly!"

Lightning wasn't sure what she meant by that, but figured it was just an expression. She took the jug in her hands and tilted it back, taking a drink of what tasted like fermented fruits. Lightning coughed at the burning sensation it left in her throat and Fang rubbed her back lightly before taking the jug and having a drink herself.

The sky was starting to darken and an old woman came into the circle and took Lightning and Fang's hands, pulling them to their feet. She started to chant in her wolf words and she drew on their faces with red rock dust in front of the crowd of onlookers. People were singing a song in unison behind her and Lightning couldn't help but look around at what everyone else was doing. After a moment, the old woman place her hand on Lightning's head to stop her from looking about and Fang chuckled at her expense.

The old woman took Fang's hand and placed it over Lightning's chest then took Lightning's and placed it over Fang's. She chanted some more and sprinkled some form of liquid over their heads and Lightning couldn't help but wonder just what each step in this ceremony was for. The markings on her face she could understand, they made her look like one of them but she wasn't entirely sure why Fang was involved. Perhaps because she was the one who found her.

Fang then took Lightning's hand from her chest with her free hand and gave Lightning's hand a soft bite. Lightning looked on confused and then glanced to Vanille who motioned at her to do the same. So she took Fang's hand from her own chest and bit it lightly too. They stood facing one another, still holding each other's hands, when Fang leaned in and kissed her.

Lightning stiffened and her eyes widened for a second before she relaxed and let the kiss happen. Without thinking, she kissed back, leaning up into Fang and tasting the fermented drink on her lips. She heard a small moan escape Fang and felt her cheeks grow hot, knowing that Fang's entire tribe could see them. Her heart rate picked up and she felt a panging sensation between her thighs. It felt good to have Fang's lips on hers, and she very quickly found she wanted more before deepening the kiss and feeling Fang's tongue on hers. Fang had let go of one of her hands and pulled Lightning's face in closer, all the while she softly rubbed her thumb on Lightning's cheek. After a moment they finally pulled back to catch their breath. She had never kissed anyone before. She certainly hadn't expected her first kiss to come from a wolf woman, but she couldn't say she was disappointed by it. Fang grinned at her and tilted her head to the side as she lead Lightning back to their spots on the ground.

The old woman continued to address the crowd and orchestrate the ceremony while everyone watched from their spot in the circle. Lightning swallowed hard and glanced down, noticing that Fang was still holding her hand in hers as she watched the members of her tribe dance around the circle. Lightning stared at Fang a moment longer and touched her lips with her free hand. She turned to Vanille, still in a bit of a stupor.

"Did... did I just get married?"

Vanille laughed, a massive smile on her face as she clasped her hands together excitedly. "Of course you did, silly!_ You're _the one who proposed!"

Lightning's eyes widened and her mouth hung open. "I... I did? When?!"

Vanille couldn't stop her giggling. "When you exchanged gifts and asked Fang to join tribes! What kind of ceremony did you think this was?"

Lightning could barely talk, "I... I thought we were just joining tribes..."

"How else would you join two tribes?" Vanille was simply having the best time of her life at Lightning's expense. "You're very lucky, you know? Fang is our best hunte'! Everyone has been trying to court her for yea's!"

Lightning glanced to Fang as she went about drinking more of the fermented fruit drink. She couldn't deny her attraction to her, but when she had tried to explain to Fang that she wanted to join tribes, she certainly hadn't meant to propose to her. She realized now that that's what Fang had been telling the others when they first arrived at the village. "Vanille?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you... not tell Fang that I didn't know?"

Vanille laughed again. "Your secret's safe with me!"

Fang leaned up against Lightning's side, handing her the jug and kissing her on the neck before mumbling something in her ear. Lightning didn't know what she said but it sent chills down her spine all the same. Lightning took a rather large drink from the jug before leaning her head against her new mate's.

Wouldn't Serah be surprised.

AN: I hope this chapter wasn't too fan servicy with all the tropiness in it, but I had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope you guys get a kick out of it too. Don't be surprised if there happens to be a part 3 some day because, well, Serah and the rest need to get there too and I have some fun little ideas for it already cooking :)


	7. Don't Let Me Burn

Quick warning, this chapter contains smut, so enjoy it!

****Don't Let Me Burn. 200 AF****

The crowd was abuzz with energy. Lightning could feel it coursing through her body as she pulled off another guitar solo. All eyes and ears were on her. She could feel the music and the energy ignite her and it fueled her farther, giving the audience what they wanted. The lighting was perfectly in sync with her guitar and before long it was like she had entered a meditative state. Everything lined up perfectly, she could feel the muscles in her arms and hands tightening on her guitar like she lived for it. It was perfect.

The show had been intense since the beginning. The people of Eden had come out in droves to see the Last l'Cie play. They're energy pushed the band hard and the band pushed them in return in a symbiotic relationship. Lightning knew that if she could feel it this intensely, than Fang was feeling it tenfold. Glancing over at Fang, she could see her pupils dilated as she watched Lightning play. Fang's eyes were hungry and Lightning saw flashes of what would be to come after the show when Fang would get her alone. Lightning had to look away. If she didn't, she would become distracted and screw up. Fang let a sly grin come over her at Lightning's avoidance, knowing full well why the lead guitarist had to avoid her. With a powerful strum, Fang brought her bass guitar back into the song, ending the crescendo that Lightning had built for her. It was like flirting. Flirting in front of thousands of people.

They were hot, sweaty and felt invincible on the stage. Fang had always been energized by a good show. She fed off of their audience like a vampire, it turned her on and made her blood pump harder. She couldn't wait to get Lightning alone.

The music picked up and the Last l'Cie gave it their all. Snow's drums beat louder and harder, sweat dripping from his brow. Sazh's guitar took up a hypnotic rhythm, backing up Lightning's lead and Vanille added in low keyboard chords to compliment Fang's playing. Fang could feel her muscles ache, and she reveled in the way the vibrations from her bass reverberated through her internal organs. She moved her body in rhythm with the music, hard and vigorous. She felt like she had become the music, just as Lightning had moments earlier. She listened to Lightning's voice carrying through the speakers and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She loved her voice.

Lightning could feel her heart beating hard in her chest, once again catching Fang's eyes when the two shared the microphone for a moment. Fang's crooning voice harmonizing with Lightning's as the rest of the world melted away and it was just them. The desire was clear in Fang's eyes and Lightning's breath almost caught in her throat. She could see herself wrapped up in Fang's hot arms with the other woman arched over her, moving her body against her own in passionate waves. Their skin hot and flush against each others as they made a different kind of music together.

Lightning was brought back to the moment as Fang's bass brought out the end of the song, smoothing the energy and leaving her breathless on the stage. The crowd shouted and cheered, whistling and asking for more, all the while Lightning's eyes begged Fang for more.

* * *

"Fuck..." Lightning breathed heavily, arching her head back as Fang bit her neck. The taller woman had her pinned up against the brick wall outside of one of the coliseums emergency exits, her hands eager to get at Lightning's skin. She pulled at the laces of the black vest Lightning wore, trying desperately to loosen it. She needed to touch Lightning, to feel her skin on her own and finally release the pent up energy she had built up over the course of their show.

Lightning slowly and methodically moved her hips on the thigh Fang had slipped between hers, feeling the friction and heat build. She pulled Fang in closer, loving the feeling of the woman's hot heavy breath on the exposed skin of her neck. She let out a strangled moan at the feeling and bit her lip. She needed Fang just as much as Fang needed her. She made a quick look around making sure they were still alone before she pushed Fang's shoulders back briefly, pulling the black sleeveless hoodie Fang wore off of her strong lean body and tossing it to the side. She immediately went for Fang's breasts, cupping and squeezing them through her black sports bra, feeling her hardened nipples through the material. She was aching all over, getting impatient and needy.

Fang was frustrated as she pulled at the laces again, loosening them more and hissed when she felt Lightning kneading her chest. "Why do you have to wear all this shit?" Fang asked, not expecting an answer as she was finally able to loosen the last of the laces and open the vest that hid Lightning's flesh from her. She let the vest stay on her shoulders and at the first site of her flesh, Fang leaned in, marking it with her teeth. Laying hot wet kisses along Lightning's exposed collar bone, Fang took in her reward.

Lightning could feel her eyes roll back at the sensation and arched into Fang, feeling her skin hot and taught against her own. She wrapped her arms back around Fang, pulling her in again, pulling her as close as their bodies could be, taking her in, feeling every hard thrum of her heart and every muscle move under her smooth skin. Fang set her alight. She laced a hand into Fang's wild, red-tinted hair and pulled her in for a deep searing kiss.

Fang was all too eager to please and deepened the kiss, letting her tongue play on Lightning's own. She moved her body against Lightning's, trying to take in as much of her bandmate as she could. She placed one hand against the cool brick wall, feeling her muscles tense with the hard grainy brick under her palm. Her other hand went to work on the many clasps that adorned Lightning's belt, preventing her from getting to her sweet spot.

Fang's skin tingled as Lightning let her free hand run warm trails down the skin on her back that had been cooled by the late night air. She shuddered and pulled back from their kiss, needing air, but Lightning wasn't done and pulled her back in harshly for another hard kiss. Fang moaned deeply into her mouth and grinned into the kiss when she felt the clasps come undone and she was finally able to undo the fly on Lightning's ripped up jeans.

With Fang's lips still on hers, Lightning gasped, feeling Fang slip one hand into her jeans. She placed her own hand on Fang's wrist, pushing her hand down further into her pants, ready for Fang to pleasure her. She let her eyebrows crush together in frustration when she realized that the thick clasp bound bracers Fang wore on her arms caught on her jeans and effectively halted their progress. She let out a frustrated groan and could feel Fang's chest move against hers as the other woman chuckled lightly at her expense. Lightning pulled her in for another mouth crushing kiss to stop Fang's chuckling and pulled her jeans and underwear down just passed her ass, giving Fang the access she had been looking for.

A strangled gasp escaped Lightning's mouth as Fang slipped her hand between her thighs and began her ministrations. There was a pleased groan that passed through Fang's lips as she went about kissing Lightning's neck and wetting her fingers against Lightning's core. They were finally going to get the release they had been looking for.

Lightning bucked her hips against Fang's hand, begging her to get on with it and Fang obliged, rubbing her wet fingers between Lightning's folds once more before moving up and pressing the wet fingers against her clit. Their bodies crushed closer still, when Lightning pulled hard at Fang's back, pulling her in as close as she could so she could be overwhelmed by the heat of her body. Fang grinned at the wanting actions and pushed her thigh up against the back of her hand, helping give friction to Lightning as she slipped two fingers into her.

Fingernails clawed at her back and Fang felt a strangled breath against her neck as Lightning clutched onto her. Lightning moved her hips on Fang's hand, greedily taking in the sensation of her fingers inside of her and her palm on her clit. Every muscle in her body ached and she was so pent up with energy, she wasn't willing to try to hold herself back. She wanted Fang bad. She pulled at Fang's body, cupping her still clothed ass in her palms and pulling her into her, desperate for anything and everything Fang had to offer. She moved harder against Fang, her breathing picking up with each thrust and curl of Fang's expert fingers. She let herself breath Fang's name into her ear, knowing that it turned the bassist on.

"Fuck... Right there." Lightning breathed out through clenched teeth as she pressed her forehead into Fang's neck needing to be feel close to her.

"It's good?" Fang's voice came out throaty and breathless and Lightning could do nothing but nod her head against her neck as she felt the waves of her orgasm wash over her. Fang could feel the pulsating on her fingers and grinned to herself, nothing turned her on more than feeling Lightning come undone on her. Lightning's body shook and she held tight to Fang, knowing that if she didn't have her to hang onto, she wouldn't be able to stand. After a moment, she caught her breath and pulled Fang in for another kiss, taking note of how dark Fang's eyes had become. She moaned into the kiss before pushing Fang back harshly. It was her turn now.

Lightning pulled her jeans back up over her exposed rear and spun the two of them around, effectively trapping Fang against the brick wall. She quickly undid Fang's black studded belt as she went about kissing Fang heatedly. Before Fang knew what was happening, Lightning had dropped to her knees and had pulled Fang's pants down, burying her face between her thighs. Fang jolted at the suddenness and placed her hands on the back of Lightning's head gaping at the sensation as Lightning went to work, licking at her folds.

"Holy... fuck..." Fang could feel her own body shake at the feeling of Lightning's tongue pressed flush against her clit. Lightning's hands ran up and down Fang's thighs, and stomach as Lightning worked hard on Fang. Fang's stomach muscles tightened at the sensation and she moved to spread her thighs more, finding it hard with her pants still around her knees. The cool night air pricked at her skin with the absence of Lightning's body tight against hers, keeping her warm, but the mix of the cool air and Lightning's warm tongue did her in. She hissed and bucked trying to hold her hips steady but found herself pushing herself against Lightning's mouth.

Fang let out more cuss words as she ran her fingers through Lightning's pink locks and watched as Lightning went down on her. Her panting and cussing filled the otherwise silent night and Lightning moaned, giving Fang some vibrations. Lightning tried not to grin when she felt Fang jolt and fist her hand into her hair at the sensation. She could feel the pressure and desperation in Fang build as the woman's grip in her hair tightened. Moaning again as she let her tongue lap against Fang's clit was all Fang needed and she came hard. Muscles shaking and voice breathless, she tried to stay on her feet as Lightning gave a few more licks, helping Fang ride out the last of her waves.

Fang let her head drop back against the wall behind her as she caught her breath and her grip on Lightning finally loosened. She let a contented grin cross over her and she chuckled. Lightning got back up and watched amused as Fang chuckled contentedly against the wall. She smiled softly and shook her head as she hiked Fang's pants back up for her. " Are you ready to go back in?"

Fang gave Lightning a sly smile before kissing her and tasting herself on Lightning's lips. The kiss was softer this time, the pent up energy having finally been sated. It was now gentle, loving even, as Fang gently ran her fingers through Lightning's hair. She broke the kiss and nodded, "Yeah. Yeah I'm good."

Lightning smiled gently, placing a hand against Fang's cheek before shaking her head in amusement at her.

* * *

"Well, where the hell have you two been?!" Snow said, sprawled out on a leather couch backstage, a beer in hand as he unwound after the show.

"Getting some fresh air." Lightning said as she popped the caps off of another two beers, handing one to Fang who took it with a nod before laying across a big armchair, letting her legs dangle over one of the armrests.

"Yeah. It was getting stuffy in here." Fang stretched out, finally feeling relaxed. Vanille eyed her suspiciously from the beanbag chair she had brought on tour with them. She had known Fang most of her life, and she knew her better than most. She could tell there was something going on between their lead and bassist but she didn't have the proof to call them out. So instead she just eyed the two of them carefully.

"Well, Jihl has been looking all over for you. You're supposed to be getting interviewed for Rock Record Magazine." Sazh calmly stated as he came up behind Lightning, pointing to a young, quiet blonde girl with a notepad who Lightning hadn't noticed when she first walked back in.

"Oh..." Lightning flushed slightly, not having realized that her tryst with Fang would intervene with anything. Jihl wouldn't be happy with them. Their manager could be a little too involved sometimes, but she was a good manager. She took her job very seriously, but often felt like she was babysitting the group of musicians.

"It's okay." The young girl played it off with a smile. "The rest of the band has given me some great stuff while you were gone. I'm Alyssa." She held out a hand to Lightning first, shaking her hand before reaching out to Fang. Fang hesitated a moment, knowing exactly where her fingers had been just moments before, but finally relented. She leaned off her chair, giving a quick shake and putting on her best poker face before idly sipping at her beer. "It's so good to meet you." The girl smiled brightly before pulling up a stool when Lightning took a seat on the sofa next to Fang's chair.

Fang gave a light grunt in response. All of her energy was spent, and at this point she was ready to curl up in a blanket and take a nap. Alyssa didn't seem to mind and placed her pen to her paper ready to start her interview with the two formally missing band-mates.

"Lightning, you're often seen as the face of the band, what's it like being recognized everywhere you go?"

Lightning glanced up from her beer with a deadpan expression. "I just give them this look and they leave me alone." Lightning stated and Fang tried not to chuckle.

"Ever the charmer, Light." Sazh commented.

Alyssa laughed, assuming Lightning was joking but stopped when Lightning gave her "that look" and she realized that there was some truth in what she said. "Um.. right. Well, umm... rumour has it that you and Snow Villiers are having an affair, do you have anything to say about that?"

Lightning made a face like she had just smelled rotting food. "Gross..."

"Thanks Light." Snow added, not the least bit offended.

"He's dating my sister." The look on Lightning's face didn't change, showing she wasn't fond of the reality either.

"She's nicer than Lightning." Snow added. Lightning didn't argue it, she knew it was true. Serah made Lightning look like a criminal by comparison.

Alyssa laughed but continued to try and pry something out of Lightning, "So... _nothing_?"

Lightning glared at the girl and Alyssa took the hint, glancing at her notepad, looking for the next question she wanted to ask the rock star.

"Um... can you tell me how your new found fame has effected you?"

"I travel a lot more..." Lightning shrugged. She was never good at interviews. She felt they were a waste of time. She played music because she enjoyed it, not for the fame.

"I don't think it's changed her much." Fang said, seeing Lightning's hesitation to answer anything fully, saving Alyssa from the painful process of trying to pry a decent answer from the band's lead. "Light's pretty down to Earth. She doesn't let outside forces influence her. She still goes to sleep before everyone else, calls her sister every day and throws things at us when we're not paying attention in the recording booth. At her core, Lightning loves music. That's why she's here. I don't think that will ever change."

Alyssa nodded, thankful for a real answer. "Well what about you Fang? Has it changed you?"

Fang made a face but before she could answer Snow started laughing, and interrupted, "She's got a lot more girls going back to her hotel rooms!" Fang made another face. No one seemed to have noticed that that behaviour had stopped a few weeks earlier; back when her and Lightning had gotten together.

Lightning rolled her eyes, reminded of Fang's former ways. The action didn't go unnoticed by Vanille.

Alyssa laughed, "Yes... I've heard your reputation as a... charmer." The young girl blushed and Lightning gave her "that look" again, but Alyssa was too trained on Fang to notice.

"Uh.. " Fang scratched at the back of her head. "Yeah." She shot a quick look at Snow who seemed awful proud of himself.

"Do you think you'll ever settle down?"

Fang raised her eyebrows at the question. "Um... Anything is possible." Fang tried to play it off, trying to ignore the analyzing look she knew Lightning was giving her.

"Oh come on, Fang... There's got to be a girl out there that can tame you." Alyssa was clearly blushing and she bit her lip, obviously trying to flirt with Fang.

Vanille watched and cringed slightly. She hated seeing people hit on Fang. She knew her reputation, but the mental image of her oldest friend as a sexual being wasn't something that interested her. Snow and Sazh snickered at the interaction. At this point, they were used to Fang coming in and sweeping the girls off their feet, but Fang hesitated.

"Uh..." Fang was suddenly very interested in her beer label, picking at the corner of it lightly.

"You don't _tame _her. She's not a fucking animal." Lightning bit out. Everyone glanced to Lightning as an awkward silence filled the air. Alyssa stayed silent, suddenly shamed by Lightning. The bandmates glanced at each other, looking for someone to save the interview. Lightning clearly didn't care that her outburst had caused tension and simply glared at Alyssa. Fang raised an eyebrow at her and cleared her throat at seeing the almost scared look Alyssa took on. "...Well she's not." Lightning said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to imply-"

"Well stop hitting on her in the middle of an interview. Be a god damn professional." Lightning didn't hide her ire.

Alyssa almost looked ready to cry. She had started the night excited to meet some of her favourite new artists, she hadn't expected to be on the receiving end of Lightning Farron's anger. "I'm sorry..." Her voice was quite.

"Light..." Fang admonished quietly. "Come on... It's fine."

"Is it?" Lightning asked, shooting her a look.

"It's not a big deal, Light." Fang said leaning up from her chair. The others were silent, wondering just what was going on, and what had put Lightning in such a bad mood. Vanille had a feeling she knew, but kept her mouth shut.

"These questions are ridiculous." Lightning said, getting up from the sofa and stepping over Vanille's bean bag before walking out into the hall.

"What the hell was that?" Snow asked, slack-jawed.

Fang groaned and rolled her head back. She closed her eyes in slight annoyance.

"Um... I guess I'll go talk to her..." Sazh said, putting down his drink as he went to get up.

"No." Fang said placing her beer down. "I got this."

"You sure?" He motioned to Alyssa. "Finish your interview."

Fang shook her head, "Trust me, Sazh... " She stood up and stretched slightly, "Sorry, Alyssa. Lightning's ... Well, she's Lightning."

The girl nodded slightly to say she heard Fang but didn't say anything. Lightning's shaming words were enough to sap the energy from the young journalist. Fang gave the girl a small apologetic smile before following after Lightning, trusting her bandmates to cheer the girl up again.

Fang caught up with Lightning just as Lightning went out the exit and back into the cool night air. Lightning crossed her arms and stood still, her breathing deep and her eyebrows knitted together. She took in the lights that lined the city's transit system, and the sound of velocycles in the far off dark, trying to calm herself down.

"Hey, Light. What the hell?" Fang circled up in front of her. Lightning didn't say anything she just licked her lips and shook her head. "I wasn't going to hit on her."

"I know, Fang." Fang waited a moment for Lightning to elaborate but she didn't.

"Then what's the problem?"

Lightning looked down, frustrated and somewhat embarrassed. "I'm just... Jealous."

"Of her?" Fang almost laughed. "Light, you got nothin' to worry about!"

"Not just _her_, Fang... " Lightning groaned and avoided Fang's curious eyes. "Everywhere you go, girls clamber for your attention. I just... I don't like it."

Fang could see the angry tension in Lightning's frame and let a small smile cross her lips, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Light, come on... I'm yours. You know that." She ducked her head down to catch Lightning's eyes but Lightning looked away again.

"Yeah? Well I wish _they_ knew that..."

"Light... That's not fair. I'm not the one who chose to keep this hidden..."

Lightning looked up, realizing that Fang thought she was blaming her. "No... no, I know that, Fang." She reached out and pulled Fang close to her, resting her forehead on Fang's shoulder. Fang hesitated a moment but wrapped her arms around Lightning in return.

"We could always tell Jihl to shove it." Fang chuckled. Jihl was the only one who knew the two of them had started a relationship. The manager had caught them one evening on their tour bus after everyone else had gone to sleep. It was Jihl who told them they needed to keep things under wraps. Fang was allowed to be a womanizer. She and Snow brought in the girls, but Lightning, she had to remain available to the fans. Boys had to believe they had a chance with her and little girls had to believe they could be her. She was the face of the band, she wasn't allowed to be gay.

"And lose our contract?" Lightning shook her head. "I'm not going to do that to them..." Lightning said, referring to their bandmates.

"They would understand... They love us, Light."

"It's not fair to them."

Fang sighed and rocked Lightning side to side a little, "Then what do you want to do about it?"

"I don't know... start by setting Alyssa on fire?"

Fang chuckled and tucked Lightning in under her chin. "Oh, I'm sure that would go over much better than coming out of the closet..."

Lightning took in Fang's scent and let out a heavy sigh. "I hate seeing them all over you."

"I know..." Fang held Lightning tight to her chest and pressed a reassuring kiss to her temple, thinking back on the night Lightning had confessed her feelings to her.

* * *

**_Flashback_**

* * *

There was a persistent knocking at the door that Fang tried desperately to ignore. She peered over the body to her right at the hotel alarm clock, reading a bright red 3:38. It was much too late for any new visitors. The body on her left wrapped her arms tighter around Fang's middle, trying to persuade her to stay in bed through her sleepy haze, but the knocking continued.

"Who is that?" The girl on her right pulled the blankets up around her chest nervously. "Fang?"

The knocking continued louder. Fang groaned and untangled herself from the arms and sheets around her body, annoyed that someone was knocking so early in the morning. "Any angry boyfriends I should know about?" Fang halfheartedly joked as she crawled off the bed. She stretched and searched the floor for her clothes which had been thrown about earlier in the evening when she had brought the two girls back to her hotel room with her.

The knocking continued, heavier now. "Yeah! Give me a damn minute!" Fang ground out, plucking her shirt up off the ground and slipping it over her head, before finding her pants and hiking them up on her way to the door.

She unlocked the door and made sure to pull her pants up over her bare butt before swinging open the door. Fang knitted her eyebrows together. "Light? It's 3:30 in the morning... are you okay?" Fang made to look down the empty hotel hallway, making sure Lightning was safe.

Lightning peered passed Fang at the two beautiful girls who were snuggled up in her bed and felt a jealous pang through her chest.

"Oh my god... It's Lightning Farron..." She could hear one of the girls say and Lightning clenched a fist in anger.

"Can I talk to you, Fang?"

"Right now? Can't it wait until morning?" Fang said and rubbed at her eyes with one hand as they adjusted to the lights in the hallway.

"Fang! See if she'll join us!" One of the girls giggled and Fang bit back her own laugh, seeing Lightning's face darken at the comment.

"Please, Fang." Lightning said, crossing her arms and choosing to ignore the two girls in Fang's bed.

Fang took a moment to study Lightning's face. The woman had an almost pleading look on her face, or as much a pleading look as Lightning could muster. "Yeah... Yeah okay. Um... Just give me a second, I'm not wearing any-" She paused seeing Lightning's exasperated face. "-Know what, never mind. Let's go." Fang said nodding her head to the side. Lightning swallowed hard, it had taken her a lot of courage to knock on Fang's door and now she had to confront her. She thought briefly of the naked women in Fang's room and was disheartened, Fang could have anyone she wanted, why would she choose her when she could have more?

Fang grabbed her key card off of the table and gave a quick half-assed excuse to the girls before leaving her room and walking with Lightning down the hall.

"What's going on? You okay?" Fang asked, as she did up the fly on her jeans.

"Yeah."

Fang raised a brow, "Then what's going on?"

Lightning didn't respond.

"Come on, Light. You're worrying me here."

Lightning stopped and took a deep breath in before turning to Fang. "Why..." She searched for the right words. "Why do you flirt with me, Fang?"

The question caught Fang of guard. She had been expecting some kind of emergency. "Uh... I- What?" Fang cocked a head to the side, making sure she had really heard Lightning's question right.

"Why do you flirt with me? You tease me, and touch me and try to get me riled up and then you go off with someone- or some_ones_ else."

"Lightning?"

"Why?"

"Uh.. I don't know... I like you. You're... fun to tease."

Lightning let out a huff of air, disappointment crossing her features.

Fang tried to hide her surprise at the obvious change of expression. "Light? Are... you jealous?"

"No." Lightning turned her head from Fang and waited a beat. "... Yes." She wouldn't have been knocking on her door if she wasn't. She let out a huff of air, angry at herself. Angry that she had fallen for the most flirtatious woman on the planet.

"Oh..." Fang said, and scratched the back of her neck. There was a long stretch of silence between them, neither woman knowing quite what to say before Fang finally broke the silence. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Lightning shuffled from one foot to another, avoiding Fang's eyes. "I didn't want to get burned."

Fang almost looked ashamed of herself. Ashamed that Lightning would ever think that she would hurt her, but she couldn't blame her. No one expected more from Fang. It was a night or nothing. Lightning let out an exasperated sigh... adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She needed to tell Fang. She had needed to tell Fang for a long time. It ate her up seeing her with anyone else, but she held back. She didn't want to crash and burn, she didn't want to lose her best friend.

Fang nodded her head slightly, biting the side of her lip, "So... what is it you want from me?"

Lightning could feel her heart pounding furiously at her chest... She had been wanting to tell Fang how she felt about her for close to a year. She had wanted Fang to take her back to her hotel room and never let her leave. She had wanted to fall asleep at her side and wake up in her arms. She wanted it all, but she knew Fang... Fang had a new girl in every city. She wouldn't settle down. Not for her, not for anyone. She was sure of it, but it was too late to back out now.

"I... I want you..." Fang felt her heart skip a beat at the uncharacteristically quite voice that passed Lightning's lips. Lightning swallowed and lifted her head, looking Fang in the eye. "All of you..."

Fang gave the smallest sincere smile in return as she watched Lightning's eyes. The openness and vulnerability she had never seen from her before was clear as she waited for Fang to say something. Anything. "You think I could stay in your room tonight?" Lightning raised an eyebrow, unsure or where the question had come from. "_Well_..." Fang stretched out a little, a small smile playing at her lips. "I figure if we're goin' to be together, it's probably best that I not go back to my room tonight. Not the best way to start a relationship, yeah?"

Lightning thought her heart stopped, "Are you saying..."

"Yeah, I like you Light." Fang smiled, "I like you a _lot_ actually."

Lightning looked confused, she hadn't expected it to be that easy. There had to be a catch. "and you'd give up... _that_?" She pointed passed Fang down the hall to Fang's hotel room where the two girls were most assuredly waiting on her return.

Fang smiled, "Yeah."

Lightning looked at Fang like maybe she was drunk, "For me?"

Fang's face fell slightly, a sympathetic frown taking over. She'd never seen Lightning like this. Vulnerable, almost scared. She realized very quickly she didn't like it. "What makes you think you're not worth it? Light, you're the most amazing person I've ever met. You're gorgeous, talented, passionate, strong. I'd be _crazy_ to let you get away..."

Lightning's face softened at Fang's words. A sense of reassurance washed over her hearing Fang confess her interest. Suddenly she didn't feel so stupid for knocking on her door at 3:30 in the morning. Lightning swallowed and nodded her head slightly, "Right. Okay." She said it more to herself than to Fang, not sure if she was processing how well everything had gone. "Umm.. okay." She shook her head, shaking her insecurities off and took Fang's hand in hers, as she pulled her down the hall towards her own room. Fang obliged, somewhat dumbfounded with everything that had just happened. One moment she was waking up in bed with two naked women and the next, she was being lead back to her best friend's hotel room.

The sunrise came up on them quickly, but only Lightning was awake to enjoy it. After they had talked for awhile, Fang had fallen asleep in Lightning's bed. Lightning had joined her after changing into a white T-shirt and underwear, she had fallen asleep almost as soon as her hand fell onto Fang's softly rising and falling stomach. Content with the way things had played out.

When the morning light hit her, Lightning had stirred awake, finding herself wrapped up in Fang's arms. She had laid with Fang as the light crept across the bed warming her skin. It had taken a lot of effort to convince herself to get out of bed, but she felt inspired. She needed to work before her inspiration abandoned her, so she untangled herself from Fang and got her acoustic guitar from its case. She sat on the open window sill, soaking in the morning sun as a soft breeze played with the light cream coloured curtains. She sipped at a hot mug of tea and jotted some notes on a notepad before pulling her acoustic guitar into her lap and playing a few soft chords. She nodded to herself, pleased at the sound and jotted the chords down on the paper. She glanced up to her bed where Fang was curled up in her blankets, still clothed from the night before. She found herself smiling softly, admiring Fang's long lean body and messy hair, letting a small blush creep across her face.

Softly plucking at her guitar, Lightning let the warmth and contentment she felt in the moment dictate her playing. She licked her lips, wetting them before softly testing a few lyrics.

"Like a phoenix you came in, from ashes of the skin. Took my heart and laid it bare, only for a moment, for the love affair." She tapped her fingers against the guitar for a moment, contemplating the sound, before singing it again, slower and softer, looking to see if she still liked the sound before she wrote it down. She licked her lips a moment and nodded to herself. "All the stars in the milky way could never burn as bright. All the flames of a runaway train could never quite ignite. You burn hotter than the rising sun andall the ways you could make me stay, you never do it halfway. It's all from ashes. All from ashes. You rose from ashes."

She carried on with her writing, repeating lyrics trying to get them just right, trying to define the sound she was looking for. She continued to strum lightly, becoming slightly frustrated with a line when it didn't want to cooperate with the flow of the song. "Don't let me burn..." She paused, and made a face trying again, "Don't let me burn."

"I'd never let you burn." Fang crooned from the bed and Lightning stopped strumming, suddenly aware that Fang had been watching and listening to her. They locked eyes and Lightning swallowed, she was almost embarrassed to have been caught singing, and even more embarrassed knowing that Fang knew the song was about her. She refused to move.

Fang gave her a sympathetic look. Lightning looked beautiful with the soft morning rays playing on her light skin and pure white simple clothes. The soft breeze played with her hair, pushing it about lightly. Lightning was perfect, and Fang needed her to know it. She untangled herself from Lightning's bed sheets and came up in front of Lightning. She took a moment to take in her vivid blue eyes before she lifted Lightning's face with a couple fingers under her jaw. "I'd never let you burn." Fang repeated the words as a soft statement, no crooning. Lightning watched Fang's eyes a moment, seeing the sincerity in them before Fang closed the distance and gently brushed her lips against Lightning's own. Lightning's heart thrummed violently against her rib cage. She was burning. Just not how she thought she would.

* * *

**_End flashback_**

* * *

They played another show the next night at the same venue, after the first had sold out within seconds. The two never did finish their interview with Alyssa that night, much to their manager's ire, but they weren't completely irresponsible. They were on time for their show, ready, and sober. The second night was just as energized as the first. The crowd pushed and they pushed back. The crowd sang along to their favourite songs, and they brought the house down around them.

Lightning strummed at her guitar and sang with the confidence she was known for, riling up Fang and the fans alike. Fang grinned at her from her left, admiring Lightning, drinking her in again. She licked her lips, knowing Lightning was hers. There was no doubt in Fang's mind. Lightning was everything she had ever wanted, she had no desire to go back to her old ways. Their lead was more than enough for her.

Lightning caught Fang's eyes and smiled back, playing along side her and matching her energy strum for strum. The two were one and they knew how to harmonize and play off each other. Lightning was sure she would never find someone like Fang again. There was a kind of energy the two shared that didn't go unnoticed by those around them. It was thick and raw but parallel. They fed off of each other, giving and taking passion and strength.

Lightning ended the song with a long drawn out note from her guitar. She scanned out over the audience before glancing back at Fang and something came over her. She took a risk. She pulled the microphone to her, speaking to the crowd, "I want to play something for you that Fang and I've been working on over the last few weeks... It's... it's been an... interesting experience."

She glanced at Fang who raised an eyebrow before mouthing the words, "Are you sure?" to her. Lightning nodded and their bandmates exchanged confused looks. None of them having known that the two had been working on anything together. Sazh gave Snow an asking look and Snow shrugged his massive shoulders before placing his drumsticks down and taking a long drink from his bottled water, okay with taking a break. Vanille quirked a suspicious eyebrow at Fang, but the look went unnoticed as Fang readied her guitar.

"I hope you like it." Lightning finished off, modestly, before licking her lips and starting to strum at her guitar. "Like a phoenix you came in, from ashes of the skin." She had refined the sound she had wanted, a strong but slow rhythm, something that conveyed her deeper emotions. Fang strummed in, creating a pulsing back beat for Lightning. "Took my heart and laid it bare, only for a moment, for the love affair."

The crowd reacted well to the song, cheering them on, happy to hear something new from Lightning Farron. Fang joined Lightning at her mic, harmonizing with her during the chorus, all the while keeping her eyes on Lightning, ignoring the thousands of screaming fans around them. Lightning stared back across the mic, taking in all the features of Fang's face. Her full lips and sculpted brows, the way bright lights made her eyes look gold in colour. She wouldn't hide anymore.

They played for a couple of minutes, Lightning sang the verses but they would ring out the chorus together, never moving their eyes from one another. "All the stars in the milky way could never burn as bright. All the flames of a runaway train could never quite ignite. You burn hotter than the rising sun andall the ways you could make me stay, you never do it halfway."

The tempo slowed a moment and Fang noticed how Lightning's pupils had dilated as she watched her in return. She could see the love she held for her, in Lightning's endless blue eyes. "It's all from ashes. All from ashes. You rose from ashes... Don't let me burn."

Lightning's eyes pleaded with Fang's. "I'd never let you burn." Fang sang back.

"Don't let me burn."

"I'd never let you burn."

Fang's bass rounded out the end of the song and the two took a moment to drink each other in, ignoring the cheering and whistling around them. Lightning smiled almost deviously before she pulled Fang into a searing hot kiss. The crowd erupted with a new round of energy, but the two were too interested in each other to notice. Snow and Sazh watched mouths slightly agape, while Vanille balled her fists in the air in excitement. They kissed passionately, letting the kiss linger before finally pulling away. Fang grinned back before Lightning let out the softest, most modest laugh, amazed by her own courage.

"I _fucking_ knew it!" Vanille yelled, her voice carrying into her mic. Fang laughed, finally breaking her eyes from Lightning's before pointing and winking at Vanille in confirmation.


	8. Concealed Hearts

****Concealed Hearts. 15 AF****

"Please, Light!" Serah pleaded with her older sister for the forth time that week. "How do you know you won't like him if you don't even give him a chance!?"

"I'm not interested." Lightning stated calmly as she turned a page in her book, much more interested in the tale of a Viking seeking glory in battle, than the blind date her sister was trying to set her up on.

"Lightning! He's perfect for you! Military background, mature, handsome! Just one date! He says he has the night off, you could be ready in an hour... Pleeeease." Serah gave her best puppy dog eyes over the top of Lightning's book before Lightning simply moved the book up to block her face.

"Quit being so stubbourn! It's just one night! If you don't like him, I'll stop bugging you about it!"

"Uh huh... Sure you will. You'll just find another one to try to set me up with."

Serah didn't have a retort, she knew it was true, but she only did it because she wanted her sister to find the same happiness that she had found with Snow. Her sister deserved to find happiness and Serah was sure she could find the right guy to sweep her off her feet... If only Lightning would give them a chance.

"Light... you could be happy."

Lightning made a face at Serah over the top of her book. "What makes you think I'm not happy?"

Serah stared a moment at the serious deadpan expression on Lightning's face before deciding not to comment on it. "You know what I _mean_... There's more to life than S_trict Order and Bloody Chaos_..." Serah mocked as she read the title of the book her sister was using to ignore her with. When Lightning didn't go for the bait, Serah sighed and started up again. "Sis... One night. Please?"

"I already have plans." Lightning stated as she continued to read her book, ignorant of the skeptical and annoyed look her sister was shooting at her.

"Oh _yeah_... I believe that. You're going to go for a run, like you do every night, then you're going to come home and go straight to bed, right?"

Lightning didn't respond and instead reached for her mug of hot tea and took a sip. Making a mental note to herself to not forget it was there and let it get cold like she often did when reading something interesting. Serah's offer to find her a date was once again defeated by Lightning's ability to not give a shit.

Serah looked disheartened at her sister and felt the urge to break down and cry. She'd been trying for months to set Lightning up. She had tried every eligible bachelor she could find that wasn't utterly intimidated by Lightning, but Lightning refused to give any of them the time of day. She was seemingly content with being alone forever and Serah was overwhelmed with guilt. Serah was moving in with Snow in as little as two weeks and Lightning would be left all alone. Serah felt like she was abandoning her older sister, and just wanted to make sure that she would have someone to share all the little moments with. Someone like Snow.

"You're going to be alone forever..." Serah meekly let out, afraid that if she spoke any louder, she might actually start crying.

"Serah." Lightning set down her book and sighed. "I can take care of my own love life, okay? You don't have to worry about me."

"But Light, you have no social skills... You don't even know how to talk to a man without questioning his fighting abilities..."

Lightning made a face. "Hey...-"

"You never give them a chance, you just glare at them until they leave."

"Serah-"

"And if they don't you punch them in the_ face_..."

Lightning rubbed her forehead for a moment before trying to speak again. "Are you done?"

"And that's if they're lucky enough to even get your attention."

Lightning sighed heavily and rolled her eyes at Serah's dramatic statements. "As much as I love you, Serah, please stop trying to help me."

"But-"

"Serah."

Serah hung her head in defeat. Once again, Lightning had won. Serah would lick her wounds for a day or two before she would try again, but she _would_ try again. Eventually Lightning would see, and when she did, she would be so thankful to Serah for never giving up on her. She was sure of it.

Like every other night, Lightning went for a run, got home, took a shower and went straight to bed, leaving Serah to her thoughts down in the living room. She took to watching her corny romance movies and let her mind wonder, once again to the topic of Lightning's love life. She was sure that if Lightning just found the right guy, that she would see why Serah was so adamant in the first place. "Why does she have to be so stubbourn?" Serah grumbled to herself as she watched what could be Lightning's life on the TV, if only the woman could see it herself. She dug a spoon into her Chocoberry ice cream and mouthed the words from the movie in perfect timing with the actors before placing the spoon into her mouth. She had probably watched the movie more times than Lightning had punched Snow. Which was about twelve times, if Serah's count was accurate.

Maybe it was one too many pints of ice cream, or the superb acting in Catching Hearts that did it, but before Serah knew it, she was on her way up the stairs, ready to drag Lightning out of bed, throw her into something nice and order her to a late movie date with Cid. Surely he would still be up for the date. He certainly seemed interested when Serah had shown him a picture of Lightning. He would be the easier of the two to rope in.

As she got closer to her sister's room, she could hear muffled noises through the door. She paused a moment to listen, unsure what the sounds were. The heavy door muffled just enough of the sounds to make it unintelligible. Serah knitted her eyebrows together. It almost sounded like Lightning was crying. Serah's heart sank and she bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn't have told Lightning that she would be alone forever. Her own words came back to haunt her. She didn't want to be the reason for Lightning's distress.

Cautiously, she pushed the door open a crack, weary of disturbing her older sister in such a vulnerable moment. Lightning could be unpredictable. She didn't want to overstep her bounds, but she was sure she could help ease her sister's distress if she tried. She very softly called out Lightning's name but stopped midway through the word, letting it fall from her lips. Her body froze up and her eyes widened so much, that she briefly considered they might just fall out.

Lightning wasn't crying... Not in the way Serah had thought at least. In the dim lighting of her sister's room, two figures writhed together, unaware of Serah's presence. Serah brought a hand to her mouth in shock. It was the last thing she would have expected to see. A strong but lean body was pressed to Lightning's own, head buried deep into Lightning's neck, obscuring their face. Serah squinted in the dim light, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mystery man that Lightning had been hiding from her, but quickly realized that she needed to leave when the moaning brought her back to the bizarreness of the situation. She quickly and very quietly pulled the door closed once again and with a stiff awkward walk, left down the hall. The shock of the moment left her mind reeling with questions and yet simultaneously left her without the ability to form a cohesive thought.

* * *

"It was so _weird_, Vanille!" The next morning Serah had met her newest friend at the café just up the street from the house Serah shared with Lightning.

"Are you sure that's what you saw?"

"Yes! He was on top of her and like... grinding..." Serah trailed off and made a small face at the memory of her sister clinging to the mystery guy.

Vanille laughed and sipped at her latte. "Well that's a good thing, right?"

Serah shrugged. "I guess? I don't know why she didn't tell me she was seeing someone though... Like... She just let me keep trying to set her up."

"Well, in her defense, from the sounds of it, she really didn't want you to. I guess now we know why!" Vanille laughed again.

"...Yeah. Wow... I wonder how long she's been seeing him... Like... I saw her come home from her run and he wasn't with her when she came home... He must have come in through the window..."

"You sure she had gone for a '_run_'?" Vanille wiggled her eyebrows and cracked a smile. She hadn't yet met Serah's older sister, but from everything Serah had told her, Lightning wasn't the romance kind of person.

"You mean she went on a_ date_!?" Serah slumped back in her chair. "My world has just been blown, Vanille."

Vanille smiled over her mug and shrugged. "Who was it? Was he cute?"

Serah scrunched up her face in thought. "I didn't see his face... But he was like... Lean but muscular, you know? Like... he had a good back on him from what I could tell. I think I he had dark hair... And he had this weird tattoo on his arm but I don't really know what it was."

"Oooh, maybe he's a_ bad boy_!" Vanille suggested with a grin but Serah didn't smile in return. She looked somewhat down. "Hey, come on! This is a good thing! Now you don't have to worry about her finding someone!"

"Yeah...I just don't get why she hasn't told me..."

Vanille thought a moment and shrugged, "Maybe it was a one night stand?"

Serah's eyes shot open at the suggestion. "If you knew Lightning, you would know how ludicrous that idea is. I'm her sister and she hardly ever hugs me, I really doubt she'd let someone..." Serah coughed, embarrassed to put to words what she'd seen, "...without knowing him well first."

"Well, from what you've told me about her, she's pretty private. Maybe she just wants to wait until things get serious before she tells you."

"Yeah... but it's got to be serious already! Like he was... like... and she was all..." Serah gesticulated in the air, getting her point across without using too many words. "You know!?"

Vanille simply smiled in response before she turned her attention to the ringing of the small bell that hung over the entrance. Her face lit up and she motioned wildly. "Fang! Come sit with us!"

Serah peered over her shoulder towards the person Vanille had just greeted to see a tall, wild looking woman in jeans and a leather jacket. Fang gave a lazy wave in their direction as she walked over to the counter, ready to order herself some breakfast.

"You finally get to meet Fang!" Vanille looked giddy. Serah had heard much about Vanille's sister since they had first met, but had yet to actually meet her. She was not quite what she was expecting, even though she knew they were not actually related, she had always pictured her to look like Vanille. So she was surprised to find that Fang was a good half-foot taller than Vanille, with a darker complexation and deep brown hair. Even the way she walked was different to Vanille. She had a confident swagger while Vanille almost skipped when she walked. Even her eyes were darker, smokier and more mature. Serah could actually feel her cheeks redden when she realized she was staring and immediately admonished herself.

"She's pretty." Serah admitted and sipped at her mug, hoping to hide her blush.

"I know." Vanille laughed, "I won't tell Snow that you fancy her."

Serah gawked, "Vanille! I'm not gay! I just.. appreciate things that look... _good_."

Vanille made a small face at Serah's reaction. On Pulse, people didn't get so bent out of shape over same-sex attraction like they did on Cocoon and Vanille was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Cocoonians were so uptight.

"Mornin'." Fang sat down with the two girls, a hot mug and a sandwich in hand. Vanille immediately picked up on the sleep still in Fang's voice and grinned.

"How late did you stay out last night?"

Fang just smiled smugly at her before drinking from her mug.

"Oh! Fang, this is Serah! Serah, Fang!"

Fang knitted her eyebrows a moment and set her mug down before realizing just who Serah was. She let the smallest knowing smile cross her lips. "Right. Good to meet you." She held out her hand and Serah shook it weakly, trying not to blush at the husky, accented voice.

"Y-yeah... Hi."

Fang smiled somewhat deviously before she shook her head and leaned back in her chair, realizing her charm worked on both the Farron girls.

"_Fang_..." Vanille warned and Fang looked somewhat shocked.

"Hey! I'm not doing anything!" Fang held up her hands, as if to show her innocence. Vanille eyed her suspiciously a moment, all too aware of Fang's effect on girls. The last thing she needed was for Fang to start hitting on her friends, so she pointed a finger at Fang as if to tell her to behave. "I swear, Van. I won't."

Vanille pursed her lips for a moment and eyed Fang, "I'm going to choose to believe you..."

"So, Serah? I hear you go to school with Van. You sick of her yet?"

"Fang!" Vanille reprimanded and pouted softly at Fang.

Serah simply laughed at the question. "No! It's nice to have new friends! I'm glad I met her! We have a lot in common, and I don't really have a lot of friends that I can really relate too." Serah smiled at Vanille and Vanille beamed back, happy to have found a fast friend on Cocoon.

"You have a lot in common? What? You eat all the ice cream in the house too?" Fang asked, once again poking fun at the younger Pulsian.

Serah made a guilty face, almost as if she had just been caught doing exactly that. "Not always... but my sister does by extra... just in case."

Fang smiled and shook her head. Lightning had actually told her about that just the other day. Explaining that Serah had eaten four pints of ice cream in the last week, and that she had actually hidden an extra one in the very back of the freezer behind the frozen beans, knowing Serah would never venture too close to the beans, keeping it safely hidden. Fang jabbed a thumb at Vanille, "This one damn near eats me out of house and home. Where it all goes, I'm still not sure."

Serah smiled at the banter "Vanille tells me you're a hunter?"

"Yep! Well, as much as I can be. They actually fined me for hunting just outside the city a week ago... You Cocoon folk are awfully tame."

Serah didn't take offense to the statement. From everything Vanille had told her, life on Pulse was wild and chaotic. Probably a place Lightning would love, just for the challenge. Upon thinking of her sister Serah got an idea. "Maybe you should hang out with my sister! I bet she could show you some fun things to do around Cocoon. She likes to go rock climbing but she doesn't have a partner. Maybe you could do that!"

Fang smiled from behind her mug, "Oh yeah? You think Lightning would like me?"

Despite not using Lightning's name, Serah simply wrote of Fang's knowledge as something Vanille had passed on but Vanille cocked a silent brow at Fang. She never recalled telling her Lightning's name.

Serah nodded. Maybe all four of them could start hanging out. If Fang became Lightning's new best friend then even if things with Lightning's secret boyfriend didn't work out, she'd still have someone to rely on. Vanille had told her all about Fang, and she was pretty sure the two would get along. At least for the most part. She'd have to see if Lightning could handle Fang's sense of humour, but something about Fang seemed right for the job. "Oh! I've got an idea! I'm having a party on Friday to celebrate moving in with my boyfriend! You should come! I'll introduce you."

Fang paused a moment, "Uh ah, yeah! Sounds good!" Unsure how to react Fang stumbled out the short sentence before immediately busying her mouth with food so she wouldn't say anything stupid.

* * *

"_Fang_..." Lightning clung to Fang's warm body desperate to keep her close. The woman had once again come in through the window to spend the night with Lightning, and just like always Lightning ended up dragging her nails down Fang's back, feeling the muscles move just beneath the skin as Fang ground on top of her. She'd been close to release for nearly ten minutes but every time she would come close, Fang would draw it out. While outwardly Lightning was frustrated, secretly she loved it, and hoped Fang would never stop.

Lightning bit her lip when she felt Fang kiss at her neck, pausing again from her ministrations to calm Lightning's nerves and give other areas of her exposed skin some much needed love and attention. "Don't leave any marks..." Lightning reminded when she felt Fang nip at the skin.

"Mm," was the only response she got in return. Fang knew not to leave marks, she didn't need to be reminded. Lightning still wasn't out to her sister and she didn't want to come out just because Serah spotted a hickey. And while Fang was somewhat annoyed with being hid away like some shameful thing, she understood Lightning's worries, and respected her enough not to push her so she loosened her bite and returned to kissing her earlobe. She kissed and nibbled at her earlobe until she was sure Lightning wasn't going to come too quickly before she continued to move on top of her.

The closer Fang came to release, the more she caused the bed to squeak and Lightning slowed her down, worried that Serah would hear the sound. As much as Lightning would miss Serah once she had moved out, she was certainly looking forward to having louder sessions with Fang in her own bed. Fang groaned at having to slow her pace, but did as she was instructed and slowly, almost painfully, brought the two to release without causing too much noise.

Fang let out a strangled moan as she collapsed onto Lightning's warm body, and grinned when she felt Lightning's thighs still shaking from the aftershocks. Lightning still held her close and nuzzled in as much as she could before the sensation tapered off.

Fang continued to lie on top of her, taking in her scent as they came down from their highs. "Mmm." Fang moaned contentedly and licked at her lips. She was about ready to sleep when Lightning began running a hand through her messy hair. Fang smiled softly at the feeling and popped one eye open to see Lightning was staring at her with concerned eyes. Fang lifted her head and mirrored her look. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just... glad to know you."

Fang gave a weak smile, "Then why do you look so conflicted?"

"The same reason I always do." Lightning sighed. They'd talked about it before and even though they'd talked it to death, Lightning still couldn't let it go.

"Light, come on." Fang nestled into Lightning and made sure she was close and comfy before continuing. "She'll still love you. She's your sister."

"Cocoon isn't like Gran Pulse, Fang... People here don't know how to mind their own damn business..."

"Mmm, then what? You gonna start dating men instead, just because it's easier?"

Lightning glared at Fang, "I didn't say that... I'd rather be single than go that route anyway..."

Fang gave a tiny nuzzle against Lightning's neck, "You'd rather be with me than be single though, right?"

"Yeah." Lightning affirmed, and continued to run her fingers through Fang's hair. "I just need to figure out how to tell Serah..."

"Well... if you want my advice. Do it before she moves out. If you wait until she's gone, it's going to be too easy to ignore and it'll be even harder."

Lightning made a face. "Yeah... You're probably right..." Lightning sighed and rested her head against Fang's, "That reminds me... Serah is having this thing on Friday. All of her annoying friends are coming over and I'm pretty sure she's going to try to hook me up with one of them... do you want to go do something that night?"

Fang grinned. "Can't... I have a party to go to."

Lightning frowned. "You do?"

"Yeah. Serah invited me." Fang laughed. "Besides, you should be there, Light. She'd want you there."

Lightning was silent a moment. "When did you meet Serah?"

"I stopped off at that little sheep café on my way home this morning and she and Vanille were there."

"...Did she... like you?" Lightning asked, hoping for a positive answer.

Fang chuckled softly. "You know, Light, I don't think Serah is as straight as you think she is."

Lightning shifted under Fang, forcing Fang to meet her eyes and see the weird look she was giving her. "Did you hit on my sister?"

"No... but she did get awful pink when I introduced myself." Fang wiggled her eyebrows.

"Well that's... good?" Lightning wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it. On one hand, Serah couldn't be too hard on her, on the other she felt a tiny pang of jealousy.

"Yeah. Oh, and she wants you to take me rock climbing."

"What?"

"Yeah, she thinks you and I would be good friends. Said she'd introduce us. It took everything in me not to say anything. You'd of been proud of me."

Lightning blinked, trying to take in everything Fang had just told her. "Right." She frowned. She knew now that she'd have to tell Serah soon. If she didn't, she would have to continue to lie later on about not already having known Fang, or she'd have to come clean about that too. She resolved there in Fang's arms to tell her at the party. Maybe with Fang there, it would be a little bit easier.

* * *

Friday night came up in a flash and Lightning sat at the kitchen island nervously sipping at a drink Snow had concocted for her as she waited for Fang to arrive. She hoped that the liquor would give her a bit of liquid courage to face her younger sister. A part of her had to scoff at the very idea. She was Lightning Farron. She wasn't supposed to be afraid of anything... but losing her sister, or her love, she feared that. Serah was the only family she had left and even though she mostly believed it would go okay, a part of her worried that she was trading Serah for Fang.

Lightning finished her drink and tapped the island, signalling Snow to make her another.

"You alright, sis? I've never even seen you drink before." He asked but began mixing her a new drink. Serah had told him all about Lightning's mystery man and he worried that maybe she was drinking because she'd gotten dumped, but he was smart enough not to ask directly.

Lightning would normally correct Snow for calling her his sister. Only Serah should be allowed to call her that, but the slight chance that it might be the last time anyone called her that, she let it slide. She ran her finger along the edge of the glass Snow placed in front of her and thought for a moment. "Snow? Has Serah ever... expressed how she feels about gay people?"

Snow gave her a strange look. He certainly wasn't expecting that response. He thought on it for a moment, wondering if maybe Lightning's boyfriend turned out to be gay, or if... maybe after having slept with the mystery guy she herself realized _she_ was gay... Either way he didn't know quite how to react to the question. "Umm... I don't think so." He scratched at the back of his head, "To be honest, I don't think she even realizes they exist... She's still trying to hook Yuj up with some of the local girls... and I know he hasn't come out yet, but... I mean come _on_!" Snow gestured across the island to the ever stylish Yuj who sat drinking a Porn Star that Snow had made for him.

Lightning bit her lip slightly. At the very least, she knew Snow wouldn't care, and maybe if things didn't go well, he would help her out.

Snow watched quietly as she played with her drink, a serious expression on her face. If he was honest, he had suspected Lightning might be gay for some time, or at the very least, asexual. When Serah had told him she'd seen her in bed with a guy he actually laughed and told her she must have been dreaming it. He scratched a the back of his head again, deciding to go out on a limb, "You know she'd love you no matter what, right?"

Lightning looked up with a speed reminiscent of her namesake. Snow had never seen her look off guard before. In that moment he saw more of Lightning than she'd shown him in his past year of knowing him. She didn't say anything but Snow patted her lightly on the shoulder. "She loves you, sis. Don't doubt her."

Lightning didn't reply, she simply looked down at her drink with a guilty expression.

"Hey! I'm so glad you could make it!" Serah exclaimed as she answered the door, letting in the newest guests. Lightning glanced over to see Fang and a small red headed girl she assumed to be Vanille. She breathed in deeply, calming her nerves as she prepared to tell Serah once Serah tried to introduce her to Fang. When the air didn't help she took a big drink from her glass instead and watched and waited.

Serah made pleasantries with the two women and pointed out the food and drinks before pulling Fang over towards Lightning. Fang wiggled her eyebrows slightly at Lightning behind Serah's back. and Lightning couldn't help but crack the smallest smile. "Fang, this is Lightning. Lightning this is Fang." Serah beamed and already deemed the friendship a success when she saw the slight smile from Lightning.

Fang, unaware that Lightning was planning that moment to come out, reached out a hand, ready to play the part of the stranger but Lightning didn't reach back and Serah's heart sank. Fang popped a questioning eyebrow at Lightning, noting the nervousness on her face. She pulled her hand back, and was ready to follow Lightning's lead.

"Um... Fang, why don't I take your jacket... and you can... mingle." Serah said, clearly upset by Lightning's apparent lack of interest.

When Lightning didn't say anything, Fang mumbled out an awkward "Okay" and let her jacket fall from her shoulders, handing it to Serah. Already Lightning could feel the moment slipping away as Serah began to walk past Fang, but Serah suddenly stopped next to Fang and cocked her head to the side. She knitted her eyebrows and stared at the large black tattoo on Fang's now bare arm, knowing she'd seen it somewhere before. Then it hit her.

Serah turned to her sister, her eyes wide and confused, "_You're gay_!?"

Lightning sat like a deer in the headlights, unmoving, her eyes just as big as Serah's. "How...?"

"Oh my god... You're _gay_!" Serah exclaimed again but this time as a realization instead of a question. She didn't even notice all the stares she had gained in her world altering moment of clarity. She slapped Lightning on the shoulder, "You know how much trouble you could have saved me!? All those weeks trying to find you the perfect guy and you're just _gay_!?"

Lightning didn't know what to say so she just continued to stare at Serah, all too aware of the looks they had garnered.

Fang stood with her lips pursed and her eyebrows arched, unsure of what just happened, but feeling the need to break the tension. "Look at that! Our sexual tension is so high, all she needed was to see us standing in front of each other!" Fang joked and Lightning let her head hit the counter, wishing she could be anywhere else in that moment and yet at the same time, she let herself smile.

* * *

AN: Just in case some of you don't know and still want to read more of the "Here" universe, I've actually made it into it's own story now! So if you're interested, it's about 3 chapters in at this point, but I'll be sure to keep updating it!


	9. Transient

****Transient. 65 BF****

Lightning bit her lip hard enough to leave a mark, as she tried to find the right words. She tapped her pencil on the paper she had laying on a copy of _Everywhere and Nowhere_ that was propped up against her lap. The book made a decent makeshift desk but she had yet to put a word to the paper. She'd been trying to figure out what she would write to her younger sister for weeks, and finally sat down to commit to writing the long overdue letter but still the words wouldn't come.

Words didn't always come easy to her. Lightning was a firm believer that actions spoke louder than words. People often touted that things were easier said than done, but for Lightning, that wasn't always the case. Certain things were hard to say out loud but could be conveyed easily enough with an action. A well-made mug of hot chocolate on a cold day, said she loved her sister. A hand on her shoulder while Serah cried, said she sympathized for her. An ex boyfriend with a broken nose, said she would always be there to protect her sister. Lightning believed actions spoke louder than words because your actions defined who you really are. This belief is what lead Lightning to abandon her comfortable life at home to stow away on one freight train after another. And now, being half a world away from her sister, words were all she had, and they still wouldn't come.

Lightning shook her head and looked up from her page and glanced across the railcar to where Fang slept soundly, back resting against a couple burlap sacks of potatoes while she used her ragged backpack as a makeshift pillow. Earlier they had opened the sliding door on the railcar by a foot and it had amplified the sounds of the wheels clacking over the tracks by at least two but it gave a nice fresh breeze to the railcar which was sorely needed and before long, Fang had fallen asleep to the rhythmic sound.

Fang could sleep just about anywhere. There was an apathetic confidence that Fang carried with her that seemed to carry over even into her sleep and Lightning couldn't help but admire her for it. It wasn't an act. Fang lived moment to moment and didn't much care to think about the consequences, and it was that which drew Lightning to her in the first place.

Lightning sighed as she studied Fang's face in the dim lantern light. It had been the first time since she'd known her that she'd seen Fang so content with life. Sure they often had to skip meals, they'd bathed in rivers and lakes more than few times, and had even been chased out of rail yards by large angry dogs and men, but Fang was meant for this life. She was a nomad, through and through. Being cooped up in Bodhum was never what Fang had wanted for herself and Fang, like Lightning believed in actions. She was finally living again and Lightning was there, living right along side her.

Thinking on Fang caused a small smile to cross her lips and Lightning let out a content puff of air before finally turning back to her paper. She started to write, trying to keep the pencil steady on the page as the railcard vibrated and swayed slightly on the tracks.

_Serah,_

_I hope you don't hate me for leaving. I never meant to leave you or mom or dad... but you know me... Sometimes I let my conscience fly._

_I... want to explain why I left and I hope you can understand but if you don't, that's okay too. Do you remember when dad took us to Gran Pulse when we were younger? You, mom and dad all stayed in that little log cabin and I opted to sleep outside under that large quercus suber tree... It was... surprisingly warm. Around four in the morning that first night, I woke up. Probably because of the time difference... but my eyes had adjusted to the dark and when I looked up through the swaying branches... I saw the most amazing thing... I saw the stars. For the first time in my life, I saw the stars. I never thought they would look so... different. I'd always heard that the stars looked like Eden and Euride in the distance... just cities floating in the sky... and it's not untrue but it's so much more._

_I wondered out from under the tree and stared up at the sky. Almost felt like I was falling into it. It was strange to me, infinite, unknown and incredible. I spent hours lying in the grass staring up into the clusters of stars in the clear night sky until the sun had washed them away. I spent the entire week out under that quercus suber... just hoping to see it again. I never did. Stubbourn clouds had moved in and kept me from the stars. When we came back to Cocoon, I never thought I would experience that feeling again. But I was wrong._

_It was Fang. It's always been Fang. When... When I look at her, I see that endless night sky. That beautiful dark abyss of unknown and I just want to fall into it... _

_She turned eighteen, you know? She was able to leave her orphanage and... and she was able to leave me behind in Bodhum... I saw the way Bodhum washed away her spirit... like the sun washed away the stars that morning and I was afraid... Afraid of losing that feeling all over again, and so when Fang had packed her bags to leave, so did I. I wouldn't let her go without me. _

_I know it's not the best excuse but Fang... She's that night sky to me. I think if anyone could understand, it would be you. Tell mom and dad that I'm doing just fine... and that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving, I'm sorry for not telling you, and I'm sorry for not writing... but I'm happy. _

_-Light_

Lightning read over her words a few more times, unsure if it was exactly what she wanted to say. If she were honest with herself, she would never be satisfied with the words on the page, but it was all she could do to let her family know that she was okay and that loved them.

Like she had mentioned in her letter, Lightning had left without telling anyone. She was only seventeen and she was sure her mother was having an absolute breakdown with her gone. She'd been meaning to write home since they'd hopped on their fist train out of Bodhum but could never find the words. At least now she finally had something she could send home once they reached the next town. She folded the piece of paper in half and slipped it into her backpack to keep it safe until she could find an envelope and deposit it into a mailbox.

She hated that she had to say it in a letter, or that she had to say it at all, but when Fang came before her and told her she was leaving, Lightning had to act. Fang had been her best friend since middle school. She'd picked Lightning up every time she'd fallen and Lightning had done the same in return. This was no different. Fang was suffocating in bodhum. So Lightning made Fang sit on her bed while she tore apart her bedroom and filled her own backpack with clothes and hygiene products. In the span of about thirty minutes, Lightning had packed all she could into her bag and left out the door with Fang at her side.

Lightning watched Fang sleeping a little while longer before rising to her feet in the shaky car. She walked to the sliding door and pushed it open a little farther, trying not to cringe at the metal creaking on it's track. She placed a hand against the side of the railcard and looked out into the night. They were still travelling through Cocoon, but they'd talked about finding and stowing away on a passenger train headed to Gran Pulse. Fang had grown up there but hadn't been back since she was ten. She had never stopped being homesick and Lightning, Lightning would be homesick without Fang, so wherever Fang would go, Lightning would follow.

They were passing over a large expanse of water far below the train that sparkled with the far off city lights in the sky. Lightning wasn't sure where they were headed. Fang had a map of all the railroads in her bag, but more often than not, they would simply hop on a train because it was moving, or because Fang liked the colour of the railcar.

Lightning smiled at the memory of Fang grabbing her hand and pulling her up into a railcar, simply because she liked the shade of blue paint on the car. It had been one of the better choices too. That particular railcar had been filled with bags of harvested raw cotton. It had made for the best nights sleep Lightning had had since they started their adventure.

"You ever goin' to sleep?"

Lightning jumped slightly. She hadn't heard Fang walk up next to her over the sounds of the clacking train tracks.

"Yeah... I was just... finishing up a letter to Serah."

Fang nodded and stretched out her arms, gripping the corrugated roof of the railcard with her fingerless gloves as she looked out at the passing waters.

Lightning watched her for a moment before speaking again. "Those gloves make you look like a hobo."

Fang grinned and bit back a laugh as she glanced at Lightning who tried not to smile in return. "I guess I kinda am."

Lightning let the smile come and allowed her eyes to wonder over Fang's features. She admired the tan complexion, and the small beauty mark under Fang's eye, the natural slight purse of her lips and the strange teal colour of her smoky eyes that couldn't decide whether they wanted to be blue or green. She'd grown up along side her, and was almost amazed that the tough, lanky girl she'd played tag with in the streets was now five foot nine. It happened slowly, almost imperceptibly, but when Lightning noticed her feelings for Fang it had long since passed the threshold of crush and was deep into love territory.

"What?" Fang asked with a curious grin. "I got somethin' on my face?"

Lightning could feel herself blush at having been caught and looked away, but only briefly. "Yeah... You're covered in dirt."

It wasn't a lie. The railcars were dirty, and traveling in them, the two girls picked up a lot of the dirt. Fang had a prominent smear of dirt running along her cheek that she'd unknowingly woken up with. Fang made to wipe at her face but missed the spot entirely and Lightning had to hold back another smile as she watched Fang try to clean it away.

"Here." Lightning reached up with one hand and gently brushed her thumb against the smear on Fang's cheek as Fang once again grabbed hold of the low roof with both hands, enjoying the tender grooming. Lightning swallowed hard and tried not to let her hand shake as she slowly brushed her thumb over the same spot multiple times. The smooth skin sent jolts of electricity up her spine that caused her pulse to quicken. She could feel Fang's eyes watching her intently and finally looked up to meet them.

The light that sparkled and reflected off the passing waters, reflected in Fang's dark teal eyes and again, Lightning was reminded of the overwhelming clusters of stars she'd seen back on Gran Pulse. She could see them twinkle in Fang's eyes, she could even see the different cool swirls of colours that served as their backdrop. She was thousands of miles from anywhere, and yet Fang had brought the stars to her again. She watched the way the lights flickered in Fang's eyes for a moment longer, feeling the hair on the back of her neck prickle. That need to fall into the abyss pulled at her again and she tentatively leaned forward, only stopping when she could feel the heat of Fang's skin close to her own. Heart fluttering in her chest, Lightning pushed the final distance forward and pressed her lips to Fang's.

Fang leaned forward into the kiss, never taking her hands down from where they anchored her. The kiss was gentle, but intense. Lightning could taste the small amount of dirt that had resided invisibly on Fang's lips, but it didn't bother her any. If anything, it added to the experience. She felt an aching in her core and felt herself shake slightly, finally pulling back from Fang's warm lips.

Fang's eyes fluttered open and watched Lightning in slight awe and confusion, but seeing the same look returned, Fang reached one hand down from the low ceiling, and pulled Lightning back in gently by the nape of her neck. She pressed their lips back together, wanting to experience the kiss again and threaded her fingers into Lightning's hair, keeping the woman close to her.

The second kiss was deeper, and a little more confident. Tongues touched with hesitance but as the kiss continued, they both pressed farther into it and were emboldened by the other's small moans and heavy warm breaths.

Years of silent yearning were finally released between the two of them as their lips met, parted and met again. Over the years, Lightning had wanted, on multiple occasions, to tell Fang how she felt, but Lightning never was good with words.

* * *

AN: I know this is one is pretty short compared to the rest, but it also doesn't have much of a plot. It's really just a snippet of time. Hopefully still good though :) I was inspired after finishing the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and had to write something.


	10. Saying the Right Thing

****Saying the Right Thing. 20 AF****

Fang awoke with a dizzying headache. Her temples pounded against her skull almost rhythmically and she rolled her eyes back into her head, trying to ignore it. She let her head spin for a moment before opening her eyes to gather her surrounding. Her vision slowly came into focus and she recognized the ceiling above her, letting out a soft moan of approval. She'd somehow made it home after drinking herself stupid at Lebreau's bar the night before. Half the time she'd pass out in the front yard after failing to get her key in the door. She would sometimes try knocking but Lightning refused to get up to let her in if she was too inebriated to get into the house herself, and Vanille would usually sleep through the noise.

Thinking on Lightning, Fang smiled and reached an arm out beside her, searching for the familiar warmth but frowned when she came up with nothing. She furrowed her brow and painstakingly turned to her side, only to see Lightning's side of the bed empty. Fang moaned slightly in confusion, noting a small pink rose on Lightning's pillow. Fang reached for it and inspected it, wondering where it had come from or what it was doing on Lightning's pillow.

After a moment she simply pinched the bridge of her nose and gave up, setting the rose back onto the pillow and rolling back over, considering a couple more hours of sleep to work off her hangover. Before she closed her eyes though, she noticed a tall glass of water set on her bedside table. She arched a brow and wondered if that was her own doing or Lightning's. Either way, it was a godsend. Seeing the glass of water made her realize just how parched she was and so she reached for the glass and downed the liquid within seconds. She was almost certain in that moment that it was the best glass of water she had ever drank.

She went to set the glass back down but stopped, noticing a small note that had been anchored by the glass earlier. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion before plucking it up and setting down the glass.

_Fang,_

_I've gone to the market to pick up ingredients for your favourite breakfast. Be back soon._

_Love Light._

Fang sat dumbfounded for a moment, feeling a panic settling in. What was the date? Was it their anniversary? Had she forgotten it? She tried to recall the day before in order to sort it out. "Okay... Thursday I went to see one of those... blockbuster things Snow wont shut up about... it came out on the... 19th?" Fang murmured aloud to herself. "That makes today the 21st... Our anniversary isn't for another 2 weeks... That can't be it." Fang made a face. What was she missing?

Lightning had left her a rose, and water. She'd left the house early to pick up bacon and hash browns just for her... She had to be missing something. Normally when Fang would come home plastered, Lightning would give her the silent treatment for a few hours, knowing how Fang used to get drunk and bring home girls before the two of them had gotten together. Lightning hated knowing that her girlfriend was out, assuredly getting drinks from other women... Lightning would try not to let her jealousy show, but it was clear how she felt about Fang's weekend benders. "The hell is going on?"

Determined to figure out her little mystery, Fang pulled herself from her covers and made her way into the bathroom to take a quick shower, hoping it would help her pretend like she wasn't dying from an overdose. She quickly hopped into the hot water, as she tried to remember just what had happened the night before but only small flashes returned to her.

Vanille had been the one to open the door after Fang had started ringing the door bell incessantly, yelling about how she was about to piss herself, loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Fang grimaced... surely Lightning hadn't missed that, so why the kindness from the soldier when she would usually be so mad she'd refuse to make eye contact for hours with her?

Fang shook her head and continued to wash herself when she felt a sharp stinging along her arm. She adjusted to inspect it and found a long cut running along the back of her arm. A few butterfly bandages had been applied to it in order to keep the cut closed but Fang had no recollection of how she'd gained the cut. She sighed, the mystery only growing. She popped back out of the shower and started to dry off before noticing something on the mirror. She cocked her face to the side, noticing a message that had been written on the mirror prior to her shower that now showed up in the steam.

A simple "I love you" written in Lightning's hand writing. Now Fang was really starting to worry. It wasn't like Lightning to leave little surprises. Lightning hated surprises... and she certainly wasn't the corny romantic type.

She inspected the little message a moment longer like it would reveal some great secret to her, and it did. As the steam started to fade, she realized she had a deep black eye. She touched it gently and flinched at the pain. "Where the hell did _that_ come from?"

Fang quickly got dressed, hoping to talk to Vanille before Lightning got back, and figure out just what had happened. She made her way down the stairs and through the living room, stopping upon seeing the glass from their fancy coffee table missing. "... What?" Fang arched a brow. Suddenly a memory came back to her.

She'd been stumbling through the living room, drunk off her ass, trying to get upstairs to bed when she'd stumbled right into the table. She winced at the memory, and felt her arm pang lightly in response. She remembered now. The glass had broken from her fall and cut her arm up pretty good... she'd left a bloody mess all over the hardwood as she crawled up the stairs but now, the floors were clean and not a trace of glass or blood was to be found. Surely, Lightning's handiwork.

"But... Lightning loved that table..." Fang pressed a hand to her forehead, "This has to be a trap. She's going to poison me, isn't she?"

"What's that, Fang?"

Fang straightened at the sound of Vanille's voice coming from the kitchen. "Right!" Fang headed to the kitchen, hoping Vanille could tell her what was going on. The small red head sat at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of sugary cereal in her PJs. "Vanille! What the hell is going on?"

Vanille cocked a questioning eyebrow at Fang's clear distress. "What do you mean?"

Fang motioned in the air vaguely. "Is Lightning going to try to murder me, or what? What the hell happened last night?"

Vanille chuckled softly, food still in her cheeks. "You came home at 3AM, out of your damn mind. You broke the coffee table and bled all over the place... then you crawled up the stairs... trailing _more_ blood around the house... on the floors the walls... Everywhere. Then you stumbled into the doorknob and gave yourself a black eye. Lightning was so mad that she had to patch you up so early in the morning."

Fang knitted her eyebrows even more. "But she left me little love notes... and a _rose..._"

"Oh, _that_! She _was_ going to kill you last night, but after she patched you up she went to put you to bed... She tried to take off your pants and you started screaming at her 'Leave me alone! I have a girlfriend!'"

* * *

AN: Just a short little story based off of a joke I heard years ago. Thought it would work well on these two :P


	11. Sleeping Arrangements

** **Sleeping Arrangements .2 AF****

"You seem uncomfortable."

"... I don't know what I am." There was a pause before Lightning sighed and adjusted herself in Fang's arms, pulling the comforter up around her in the process. It seemed no matter what position she took, she just wasn't comfortable. She was stiff and tense and simply wasn't sure how to relax.

"If you don't want to, we don't have to." Fang said and brushed a small strand of hair back behind Lightning's ear.

Lightning grimaced slightly. "No... it's time. We've been together long enough to take things to the next level..." She frowned slightly as she said it. "It's just going to... take some getting used to."

Fang sighed slightly. "Light... You're not just saying that cause you know I want it, yeah?" There was another pause before Lightning answered.

"Fang... just go to sleep."

Lightning was done talking. She had decided it was time that she shared her bed with Fang, but having a body beside her felt strange. This was her room, her _bed._ It was the one place that was solely hers, and now she was sharing it with someone else. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it. Sure, it was Fang, and that made it tolerable, but it was so different than what she was used to. She wasn't used to the warm arms around her, or the soft breath on her skin. She wasn't used to rolling over in the night and feeling a hard body next to her.

Lightning grimaced again, unsure if she would be able to sleep at all. Fang on the other hand, was making herself comfortable. She'd been waiting for weeks just to sleep next to Lightning. The two were often together and had come into a comfortable relationship, but they were very different when it came to expressing it. Fang was assertive, and affectionate, while Lightning was more passive. It wasn't that she didn't like Fang. She did. It's just that she felt more comfortable _letting_ Fang love her than actively expressing it. And so, as the two settled in for their first night of sleep together, Fang wrapped herself around Lightning and Lightning let her. Lightning's own way of showing Fang she cared.

Fang hummed to herself, content with the feeling of Lightning's warm body snug in her grasp, while Lightning stared at the ceiling, counting her teeth with her tongue and hoping she'd fall asleep. After a few minutes the hand that had been stroking Lightning's neck stopped and Lightning assumed Fang had fallen asleep until she heard Fang's raspy voice whisper into her ear. "You don't like it, do you?"

Lightning frowned. "It's not that I don't like it... It's... different."

It was Fang's turn to frown. "Different good or different bad?"

"Just... different."

Lightning's words didn't help to placate Fang's worry. She had been hoping Lightning would enjoy a good cuddly sleep as much as she did. Maybe it was from growing up in the orphanage along side Vanille, but Fang had really grown accustomed to another warm body next to hers. She was hoping that Lightning would be that body, but now she felt slightly anxious. She knew Lightning had her reservations about sharing her bed, and she didn't want to confirm any of Lightning's fears so soon out of the gate.

Fang sighed and untangled herself from Lightning's body. She rolled onto her back on her assigned side of the bed and stared at the ceiling along with Lightning. "Maybe we're just movin' too fast for ya..."

Lightning felt a guilty pang in her chest. She wanted to share her bed with Fang, but even that was turning out to be harder than expected. They'd been together for a few months already, and known each other even longer. Fang was her best friend, and yet Lightning was so used to her solitude, that even Fang felt out of place in her bed.

"Fang..." she sighed at herself. "I'm sorry... I'm not used to any kind of intimacy."

"I know." Fang sighed in return but turned on her side to face Lightning. She pursed her lips slightly in thought and took Lightning's hand in hers. "Maybe we'll start off slow."

Lightning looked to her hand as Fang enclosed it in her own and bit her lip. Maybe this she could do. A small touch. "Okay."

Before long the two had fallen asleep and Fang pulled Lightning's hand closer to herself wrapping her arms around Lightning's arm and holding it to her chest like a teddy bear. It was a compromise but it worked.

With each passing night that Fang spent in Lightning's bed the two moved closer and closer. It started with the hand, then a leg draped over another, a head on the shoulder, until eventually Fang had Lightning wrapped tightly against her each night. Their limbs entwined and body heat shared, the two were finally able to sleep comfortably with one another. Though Fang often wondered if Lightning was truly happy with the arrangement, as Fang was certain she was getting more out of their affectionate sleeps than Lightning was.

The feeling was still a little strange to Lightning, but she had gotten used to Fang's warm breath on her neck, and the light tickle of her fingertips playing on her skin faster than she figured she would. In fact, Lightning hadn't even realized just how used to it she had become until Fang went away on a short hunting trip with Vanille.

She had ended up tossing and turning well into the night and anytime she had managed to get an inkling of sleep, she'd wake up again feeling more tired than she had moments before. She'd pull Fang's assigned pillow to her chest and wrap an arm around it, burying her face into it while trying to pick up Fang's familiar scent but It just wasn't enough. The pillow wasn't warm like Fang. it couldn't hold her in return, or breath softly against her. It didn't hum in contentment or rub it's feet together in comforting circles. It didn't trace patterns on her skin or kiss the skin on her neck. It simply wasn't Fang.

Lightning groaned in frustration and even found herself cursing at Fang for leaving. She had barely managed to sleep more than an hour that night and she put the blame squarely on Fang's shoulders. If it hadn't been for Fang, Lightning would still be able to sleep on her own, but now she felt reliant on the warmth that belonged next to her.

Lightning frowned at her mug of tea in the morning as she sat on her couch, wrapped in her blanket. She eventually gave up on the idea of sleeping and opted instead to be angry for the day. Etro have mercy on anyone who crossed her path. She brooded on the couch for half a day, glaring at the television while she waited for the moment the front door would open.

Eventually, sometime around three in the afternoon, there was a quick knock on the door before it was pushed open and Fang announced herself.

"Light! You home!?" Fang called out and Lightning perked up slightly. She stood up from the couch and pulled her blanket up round her as she marched out to meet Fang. Fang quirked a brow when she saw the grumpy, tired look on Lightning's face. "What's eatin' you?"

Lightning replied with a simple frown before she took hold of Fang's hand and pulled her along towards her bedroom without a word.

"You alright, Light?" Fang asked in slight worry. She had never see Lightning look so exhausted before. Her immediate thought was that Lightning was sick, or that something horrible had happened that just ate away at Lightning's mind in the day she was gone, but Lightning didn't answer her and left her to continue wondering.

"Lay down." Lightning demanded as she closed the bedroom door behind them.

Fang arched a brow and glanced between the bed and her angry looking girlfriend. "We're not having sex are we?" Fang asked, genuinely curious. "Cause call me old fashioned, but I'd like a little more romanc-"

"Down." Lighting cut Fang off and pushed the woman onto the bed before immediately crawling up next to her and wrapping herself around Fang's warm body. That was all she needed. The warm familiar feeling of Fang's body immediately calmed her own tired body and by the time she pulled her blanket around them, her eyes had closed and she'd fallen asleep.

Fang looked down at the calmly sleeping woman in her arms and furrowed her brow. When she had seen the grumpy look on Lightning's face she had expected to endure some kind of vitriol but she hadn't expected a forced nap. Fang wriggled slightly on the bed, getting herself comfortable. With how tired Lightning had looked, Fang figured she would be pinned down for some time and had better make the most of the situation. At least now she didn't wonder if Lightning was getting anything out of their sleeping arrangements. It was clear by the way she had wrapped her arms around Fang, with her head resting on Fang's shoulder, that Lightning had come not only to tolerate Fang's presence in her bed, but had actually come to rely on it.

Fang grinned to herself. She wasn't exactly tired, but she figured she could tough out a nap for Lightning's sake. Lightning had looked so exhausted when she had greeted Fang that it was clear she needed this rest and so she wrapped her arms around Lightning and slowly started to trace her familiar patterns into the sleeping girl's skin until she too fell into a comfortable sleep with Lightning's body heat matching her own.


	12. The Wolf in the Ashes Part 3

**** The Wolf in the Ashes. Part 3. 30 000 BF** **(For those on mobile who can't read the chapter names, Part 1 is chapter 1 and Part 2 is chapter 6.)

Lightning's head was spinning when she finally cracked her eyes open the next day. The fermented drink had done a number on her and it left her mind ringing with a dull fuzzy sensation she wasn't entirely used to. The feeling caused her to pull an arm across her eyes, an attempt to fall back to sleep and ignore the sensation. Her body was warm, soft furs surrounded her and while her mind could be in better shape, she had to admit, she'd never woken up in so much comfort before.

The slight pulsing in her head refused to leave however, making sleep that much more elusive. After what felt like a small eternity, she lowered her arm, admitted defeat, and gave up on trying to get back to sleep. Instead, she took in her surroundings, unsure of how she'd ended up in the giant pile of furs. Most of the night was a blur. She could remember parts of the ceremony; food and drinks... Fang. _That's right_. She pinched at the bridge of her nose. She'd gotten married the night before. She groaned inwardly. She wasn't all that upset by the unintended marriage, if anything, she could readily admit to herself that of all the people she'd met, she was certainly glad it was Fang she'd accidentally proposed to, but it was not something she would have done had she known what she were doing at the time.

Lightning shook her head softly at the ridiculousness of the situation and the small amount of movement was enough to wake the sleeping form behind her. Lightning stiffened. She hadn't noticed the other body behind her until it shifted and she felt a warm arm that had been sitting around her waist pull her in tighter. A small groan from behind her confirmed it was Fang and she relaxed slightly. It wasn't the first time she'd woken up with Fang wrapped around her, but it was the first time she'd woken up and realized the significance of the affectionate gesture.

Lightning turned slightly onto her back and Fang pressed her face into her neck, trying to ward off the waking hours as long as she could as she let her fingers play on Lightning's warm skin. The ticklish sensation caused Lightning to freeze up and she furrowed her brow. The sensation wasn't bad, but it _was_ unexpected... Lightning felt herself flush, realizing she wasn't wearing a scrap of pelt. Fang's smooth skin was flush against her own and only after realizing that did she notice the almost overwhelming heat that Fang's skin was giving off.

Small flashes from the night before came back to her like sparks in a fire. The image of Fang's body pressed tight to her own. The friction and heat of their bodies. The soft moans from Fang's throat in her ear. It all passed before her in a flash and Lightning flushed again. She could vaguely recall the feeling of hot breath on her neck and the sounds of herself crying out Fang's name. A part of her refused to believe it had happened but the warm arm around her midsection was all the proof that she needed.

Lightning groaned to herself and pulled a pelt up over her face. Fang said something behind her in a tired voice before placing kisses to the exposed skin of her shoulders and Lightning tried once again to fight off the blush. She didn't _not _enjoy the feeling but she hadn't even intended to marry Fang in the first place, let alone spend the night naked in her arms. Everything was happening so quickly, Lightning was finding it difficult to process it all.

Just as Lightning was starting to get used to the feeling of Fang's soft, warm kisses on her skin, the flap on the shelter burst open and someone else crawled in. Lightning apprehensively lowered the pelt from her eyes in order to see who had entered and breathed a small sigh of relief upon seeing Vanille.

"You have fun last night?" Vanille giggled and wiggled her eyebrows at Lightning. The relief Lightning had felt very quickly vanished and she pulled the pelt back up over her face and turned over into Fang. At least with Fang, she didn't understand anything embarrassing she might be saying.

Fang was very quick to welcome Lightning against her warm, naked chest, letting the woman burry her face in her neck in an attempt to hide from Vanille. Fang chuckled softly, running one warm hand over the smooth expanse of skin on Lightning's back as she conversed with Vanille in their native tongue. The two laughed amongst themselves and while Lightning found herself curious as to what they were laughing about, she chose not to ask for fear that she'd never stop blushing.

"Lightnin'. Up."

"Hmm?" Lightning craned her head up to give Fang a questioning look but before she could get an answer Fang threw off their pelts, leaving them in the nude. Lightning instinctively curled up and tried to pull the pelts back over herself, ignoring the giggling from Vanille.

"Come on, Lightnin'! The elders want to give you a wedding gift!" Vanille said and nudged Lightning who was desperately trying to hide her blushing face.

Fang threw on her pelts as she talked with Vanille and tossed Lightning's own pelts to her, encouraging her to get up. After a brief moment of hesitation, Lightning pulled off the large pelt and dressed herself, making sure to face away from Vanille, remembering how the young girl had tried to peak down her pelt the day before. The wolf people were obviously very lax about modesty.

Lightning quickly dressed herself before following Fang and Vanille out of the shelter and into the hazy morning light. It felt good just seeing the light shining through the hazy skies and Lightning was reminded again of how lucky she was to have run into Fang. Now all that was left was to bring her own tribe to this new land.

Fang grinned at Lightning and took her hand before pulling her along after an excited Vanille. Lightning had to admit that even though things had moved very quickly, the feeling of her hand in Fang's felt good. It was just like seeing the light again after all the months of cold darkness. It was warm, comforting and reassuring. It might not have been her intention to marry a stranger but she was content with her serendipitous mate.

"You're goin' to love this, Lightnin'!" Vanille said as she swung her arms and skipped along their path.

Lightning pulled a small face. "You're not leading me into another wedding are you?"

Vanille giggled and waved a hand in the air, "_No._ But... It's not _unlike_ a wedding."

Lightning frowned and swallowed hard. One mate she could handle, but another? "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see!" Vanille continued to skip and made all manner of happy noises along the way. Finally they stopped at the entrance to a carved stone structure. Vanille rushed in through the leaves covering the entrance while Fang simply held the leaves to the side, ushering Lightning into the stone structure.

It was strange. It was stone like a cave, but clearly the rock had been cut and carved in order to create the hollowed area inside. Small alcoves were cut into the stone walls where small fires burned, lighting up the interior, giving the man-made cave warmth and light. Along the ground were many small hay beds, covered in animal pelts. A few sleeping wolves laid on top of them, with pups snuggled in under their mothers. The same elder from Lightning's and Fang's impromptu wedding the night before was kneeling beside one of the wolves, chanting something in her wolf words.

"What is this place?"

"It's a temple to honour the wolves." Vanille said and motioned to the carving of a wolf sitting upright at the back of the room.

Lightning knitted her eyebrows. "... I thought the wolves worshipped _you. _Not the other way around..."

Vanille giggled at Lightning's ignorance. "The wolves are our _partners_, Lightnin'... And now it's time for you to get your own partner."

"My own- what?"

Vanille didn't reply but pulled Lightning towards the elder woman and dropped to her knees next to her, speaking to her in their native language. They conversed for a moment before Vanille tugged Lightning to her knees next to her and Fang followed suit, smiling her wolfish smile.

The wolf in front of her was a large grey wolf, with tired eyes. She didn't seem at all interested in the people now crowded around her, she simply closed her eyes and continued to rest. She wasn't nearly as big or as strong as Bahamut and Lightning felt a slight pang of disappointment. She didn't voice her concerns however and simply watched with slight amusement as the Elder woman lifted the large wolf's front paw and scooped a small white wolf out from under the mother wolf's arm.

Lightning's disappointment immediately faded. The small wolf was bright white with thick fur and pale blue eyes. He looked surprised and a little groggy at having been plucked up from under his warm mother. Lightning felt her heart hitch lightly as the elder handed the small pup over to Lightning who gingerly took him into her arms. As Lightning stared down at the sleepy wolf pup, the elder carried on talking and Vanille translated.

"The elder says the wolf ancestors have chosen you a phantom wolf, to match your soul."

Lightning let out an amused puff of air before scratching the small wolf behind his thick little ears. She had to admit, she already felt an affinity for the tiny creature. His eyes were innocent and curious, nothing like what she'd always imagined when she thought of wolves.

"What are you going to name 'im?"

"Name him? Um..." Lightning furrowed her brow as she cocked her head to the side all the while studying the squirming pup and trying to think of a name that suited him. "Odin."

Vanille giggled. "That's a silly name."

"Is it?" Lightning didn't seem annoyed, she was too preoccupied with the small bundle of fur in her arms to care. He wriggled about nearly falling out of Lightning's arms a couple times as he figured it was time to play.

"It's up to you to train 'im."

Lightning sucked her lips for a second. "Train him? How do I do that?"

Vanille giggled as Odin latched onto Lightning's hand and gnawed on her fingers lightly. "Keep him with you and teach him commands. He will learn eventually."

Lightning furrowed her brow slightly. "Vanille... I have to get back to my people before they parish... I can't take him with me..."

Vanille frowned slightly. "But you _need_ to train 'im if you and Fang are gonna be our leaders one day..."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You can't be a leader without a wolf. It's tradition."

Lightning set Odin down and he continued to try and gnaw on her as she directed her attention to Vanille. "Why would I be a leader?"

Vanille cocked her head slightly as if it were a silly question. "Because you married Fang. Fang is next in line to lead us. She's the strongest."

"You choose you're leaders by how strong they are?"

"_Our _leaders, Lightnin'. You're one of us now! Now go on and get ready for you' trip... and take this with you." Vanille said, plucking Odin back up and pushing him into Lighting's arms.

They'd spent the day preparing for the long trip back to Lightning's tribe, and while the day was spent gathering supplies and preparing their food, it was still a restful day. After weeks of travel, the mindless packing of dried meats and soft pelts was soothing to Lightning's sore body. Her new tribe was eager to help as well, providing her and Fang with food rations and supply pouches. In no time, the sun had already set and Fang and Lightning were itching to get going.

"Look!" Vanille pointed up to the dark sky as Fang flung a large satchel over Bahamut's back that was filled with supplies for their long trip.

Lightning looked up to where the young girl was pointing to see bright trails of light dancing across the sky that shone through the light haze.

"It's said that as the Ancestral Wolf runs across the land, his tail causes sparks that light up the sky! It's a good omen! You'll have a safe journey!"

Lightning had always heard that it was the river of the Gods overflowing into their world. She frowned slightly. They couldn't both be right, but seeing as Lightning's tribe was suffering while theirs was thriving... Lightning grimaced to think that her tribe had been wrong all along.

Bahamut made a slight whine as his entire body wriggled with excitement. The large wolf didn't seem to mind the extra weight, rather he seemed to know what it meant. The assortment of pouches on his back meant that he was going for a long trip, and he was having a hard time sitting still. Fang tried to calm him down as she attached the leather around his torso and Lightning watched in amusement as Bahamut proceeded to knock her onto her rear in his excitement. Lightning looked down to the sleeping bundle of white fur in her arms and smiled. Just days ago she feared the wolves and now she was anticipating the bond that would grow between her and the small creature in her arms.

In his excitement, Bahamut towered over Fang, licking her face and Fang made a sound of annoyance, pushing the large wolf away from her. She got up, and dusted off her rear where leaves and twigs had embedded themselves in her pelts. Lightning couldn't help the small grimace that came over her. She and her people had feared the wolf people for as long as she could remember, and yet they were harmless, and generous people. She simply hoped that her own tribe could see that and would give Fang the chance to prove it to them. Fang had been a shining light of hope in an otherwise cold world, but she knew that not everyone in her tribe would welcome the strange wolf woman with open arms.

Lightning glanced to Vanille who was still oohing and aweing at the bright dancing lights and bit her lip slightly. "Vanille... Are you sure you wont come with us? You're knowledge of our words would be helpful."

Vanille tore her attention away from the night sky and turned towards Lightning. Assuming Lightning meant that she wanted her to help her and Fang communicate, Vanille giggled. "You'll be fine, Lightnin'! Fang adores you! Weird words and all!"

"That's not what I... She does?" Lightning made a face and glanced to Fang who was still fighting with Bahamut's large satchel. Somehow it hadn't seemed to occur to Lightning that Fang would adore her. They'd only just met. She figured that Fang had seen the marriage proposal and consequent merging of their tribes as a good move, and that that was the real reason Fang had agreed to the marriage. She could tell Fang liked her, it was hard not to see that when the two had spent the night naked in each other's arms, but adored?

"You couldn't tell?" Vanille giggled. "She says she was smitten with you from the start!"

Lightning flushed slightly. She didn't quite know what to say in response. She was aware that Fang had been following her for some time before she intervened and prevented Lightning's almost certain death, but she thought it was because she was a "phantom" that Fang believed would bring her luck. Lightning glanced to Fang who seamed to be cursing at the leather straps that were getting lost in Bahamut's fur, making themselves hard to fasten. She realized she knew very little about Fang, and if they were going to be each other's mates, she should take the opportunity to know more.

"Can you tell me about Fang?" Lightning asked, her eyes never straying from her mate's form.

"Hmm, well!" Vanille tapped a finger to her lips as she thought, "She's stubbourn and a little bit nuts... but she's caring... When I get sad she pats me on the head and it makes me feel bette'." Vanille pondered as she walked in a small circle ignoring the aggravation coming from Fang's struggles. "She enjoys the smell of the first rainfall and the flash of lightning in the sky... By the way, we call lightning 'fulgur', and when I told Fang what you're name means, she thought it was pretty funny, so if you ever hear her say it, she's probably teasing you."

Lightning frowned slightly. "I'll keep that in mind."

Vanille noted the small frown and continued, "Don't worry! She won't say anything _mean. _She's a charmer through and through! You can't understand her so you don't even know how charming she can _be_. I bet you're cheeks would be bright red if you knew half the things she said to you!"

Lightning tried to keep her face stoic in an attempt to keep the blush from her cheeks. "I don't think I want to know..."

Vanille giggled in response. "You know... She _really_ likes you' voice... is there anything you want me to tell her for you before you leave?"

"Oh..." Lightning paused for a minute and looked at Fang as she finally triumphed over the satchel. Her hair was tussled about causing her to look remarkably like Bahamut. Lightning smiled, "Fang?"

Fang perked up at hearing her name and directed her attention towards Lightning with questioning eyes.

"Thank you, Fang. Thank you... for saving me and... and for taking me in and giving me hope. I know I haven't given you much back but, I'll return your kindness in time." Lightning bit her lip as Fang turned her attention to Vanille, as Vanille translated the message to her. As Vanille finished relaying Lightning's words Fang broke out into a grin and sauntered up to Lightning, throwing an arm over her feather covered shoulder and talking into her ear in a low voice.

Lightning knitted her eyebrows together, the words lost on her.

Vanille bit her lip slightly before speaking, "She... says she knows of a way you could repay her..."

Lighting cocked a brow, "Oh?" Vanille didn't reply but Lightning caught the hint of pink crawling across her cheeks. "_Oh..._" Lightning lightly hit Fang on the shoulder and the wolfish woman laughed before planting a kiss to Lightning's temple and saying something else.

"She wants to know if you're ready to go." Vanille said, relieved that Fang had dropped the flirting.

Lightning nodded and hiked Odin farther up on her chest. She was eager to get back to Serah. Her people were waiting on her and the longer she took, the less people would be returning with her. They were slowly starving to death but Bahamut was packed with an abundance of dried foods for them and the sooner they made haste, the better.

Vanille latched on to Lightning and Fang and gave them a tight squeeze while Fang playfully mussed up her hair. She said a few words in her wolf words to Fang and then gave Lightning a quick, "Good luck!" and they were off.

The night had fallen but the day had been spent exerting little energy and the two were more than capable of reaching the same cavern they'd spent their last night in before they had reached Fang's tribe the day before. They settled down by their campfire for the night, and ate a few pieces of dried meat as they watched Bahamut and Odin play with each other. It was surprisingly peaceful. While the two wolves would pounce on one another, Lightning and Fang took the time to themselves and huddled up next to the fire. Lightning was almost surprised at how easy it was to be with Fang. She found she was more comfortable around Fang than she was around her own people. Around Fang, she felt she could actually let her guard down.

Lightning took a quick glance at Fang as the wolf woman picked at a twig that had gotten caught up in her pelts. Fang, despite being a force of nature, had a strange calming effect on Lightning. Maybe that was why Lightning felt so comfortable in her presence. Lightning smiled to herself and leaned her head onto her mate's shoulder, content with her accidental marriage. The soft pelts that covered Fang's shoulders made short work of Lightning and It wasn't long before sleep took her and left Fang to figure out how to lay her down without waking her up.

The days passed and with each day travelled, the skies grew darker, the winds grew colder and the grounds grew thicker with ash. But despite the lands around them growing harsher, Fang and Lightning grew closer. They learned more words in each other's tongues and Lightning caught Fang calling her "Fulgur" more than a few times. They'd spent more than a few evenings tussling with each other in the pelts and falling asleep in each other's arms from the exhaustion afterwards. They were at ease with one another's rhythms. It was as though the two had been fated to find one another in the first place.

The serendipitous lovers travelled well together. Lightning would guide them with her markers, while Fang and Bahamut would provide them with fresh meat when they could. It worked well. Unlike her first journey through the ashen lands, this time Lightning wasn't as worried about rationing her supplies. With the fresh meat Bahamut was providing, Lightning had the strength to travel faster and farther each day than she had before. The wolf certainly pulled his weight, though Lightning was still worried how her own tribe would react to her bringing wolves along with her. Even Fang was a concern. She knew her own people wouldn't be quite as welcoming as Fang's. One elder in particular was sure to have a problem with Fang, but it didn't matter. If her tribe wanted to survive then they would have to learn to trust Fang just as much as she did.

Most of the time spent travelling, Odin was bundled up against Lightning's chest. His short legs easily tuckering out after a few hours. It wasn't much of a problem, he was light and easy to handle after he'd spent his energy and Lightning genuinely enjoyed watching the small pup sleeping against her. She'd really come to love the animal. She'd even woken up a few mornings with Odin curled up in front of her face, fur tickling her nose. He seemed to understand that Lightning was his partner, just as Bahamut understood Fang was his. Sure he was small and useless now, but Lightning knew one day Odin would be just as good a hunting partner as Bahamut and she took a small amount of pride in that.

The closer they came to Lightning's tribe, the more Lighting worried. She knew she'd been gone for weeks even with the skies darkened. There was an anxious biting in her stomach to see her sister again, and a fear that maybe she was too late. Even before she had left, they'd lost a third of their tribe to hunger and exposure. The very young and old were the first to go, and finally after realizing the fate of their people, their elder had put aside his pride and begrudgingly sent Lightning off to find them new land.

Serah had been in good health when Lightning had left, but she'd seen how fast someone could take a turn for the worst. The closer they got, the faster Lightning traveled and Fang seamed to sense the unease in her partner, offering her a warm hand on the back to reassure her. Lightning didn't know why, but it helped. With Fang beside her, Lightning felt her resolve strengthen and she bit down her fear.

Fang and Bahamut lead along as Lightning called for Odin to follow her, the small wolf was busy pouncing in the thick ash and was completely ignorant of what Lightning wanted him to do, so she scooped him up and made to catch up with Fang and Bahamut, hoping to deposit the pup into one of the satchels on Bahamut's back but something caught her eye in the dark. Squinting in the hazy dark, Lightning could make out a torchlight in the distance.

"... A hunting party?" Lightning wondered. After a moment, the torchlight stopped moving and Lightning furrowed her brow before realization dawned on her. "No! No!" She yelled out to the light and ran to catch up with Fang, but before her call was met she heard the wiz of an arrow cutting through the air.

"Argh!" Fang let out a grunt as the arrow struck her in the shoulder and she dropped to her knees. Lightning's panic grew as she ran towards her fallen mate and dropped next to her.

"Stop! Don't fire!" Lightning called out again, and immediately began to assess the damage done.

Fang sat on her knees, teeth clenched tight together as she eyed the sharp stick lodged in her shoulder. "What?" Fang asked the simple word through tight teeth.

Lightning winced as she set Odin down. It had pierced through the wolf skull Fang wore on her shoulder, and embedded itself into Fang's flesh. "Arrow." Lightning said. "It's an arrow." Lightning recognized Fang's confused look as she eyed the arrow. It was the same curious look she'd worn when Lightning had tried to help her make a fire when they'd first met. "You use wolves to hunt. We use arrows..." Lightning wasn't sure if any of her words got through but the sound of Lightning's voice seemed to help put Fang at ease.

Lightning went about untying the leather strips that held the wolf skull in place and pulled it away, having to thread the skull over the feathered end of the arrow in order to remove it. She pushed apart the thick pelts and breathed a small sigh of relief. It wasn't deep. She could still see the arrowhead in the bloody flesh.

Bahamut's snarling pulled Lightning's attention away from Fang and towards a couple figures moving towards them. "Bahamut..." Lightning said calmly and rested a hand on his head in order to calm him. He was only reacting because of Fang and Lightning didn't fault him for it, but she needed him to be calm. She had recognized the feathers used to balance the arrow. It was her tribe and they were already off to a bad start, she didn't need Bahamut making it worse.

"Lightning?"

The sound of a familiar voice sent a jolt through Lightning's chest. "I should have known... You're the only one with an aim that true." Lightning said with a smile.

Serah beamed and ran at her sister, flinging her arms around Lightning's neck and embracing her in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're alive! We were beginning to worry!"

Lightning held Serah tight for a moment longer, revelling in the relief, and taking in the familiar scent of her sister before Serah yelped and pushed back, noticing the large black wolf behind Lightning. She immediately reached for her bow again before Lightning stopped her. "No! Serah... put that thing away."

"Hey sis!"

Lightning rolled her eyes at the familiar voice. "I'm not your sister."

Snow came up behind Serah and furrowed his brow at the scene before him, and Lightning could sense the tension even before Snow spoke again. "That's a wolf woman..."

"Yeah." Lightning said as she knelt down in front of Fang again and eased the arrow out of her shoulder. "She is..." Fang hissed as the end of the arrow left her flesh and Lightning held it up, examining it to make sure nothing had broken off in Fang' shoulder. When she was satisfied she tossed the arrow to the side. She gave a quick whistle and Bahamut sat down next to her, allowing her access to his satchels. Lightning pulled out their water pouch and cleaned the area of blood before wrapping it tightly with a thick strip of leather.

As soon as she was done securing the wound Lightning bit her lip and met Fang's eyes. "Sorry." She apologized on behalf of her sister. Fang glanced over Lightning's shoulder at the two pale skinned phantoms, as Lightning tried to gingerly tie her cracked wolf skull back into place. "That's my sister, Serah... and the oaf is Snow."

Snow and Serah shared a glance with one another at the strange sight. Lightning was tending to a wolf woman and the wolves were helping her. Had Snow not been there with her, Serah would probably have reached for her bow again when she saw the large black wolf eyeing her cautiously, but Lightning had told her to put it away and with Snow beside her, she felt safe enough to listen. "Lightning... What's... going on?"

Lightning sighed as she got to her feet and helped pull Fang up along with her. "This is Fang... She... she's my..." Lightning winced feeling her face flush and decided she'd tell them about the accidental marriage later. "She saved me from a bea'...-"

Serah arched a brow, "What's a bea'?"

"It's... a fat wolf... with a little tail." Lightning tried to explain, thinking back to meeting Fang. "It attacked when I stopped to eat and Fang killed it before it could kill me... We've been travelling together ever since and she's welcomed me-... _us..._", she corrected, "into her tribe."

Serah raised a brow and bit her lip as she eyed her arrow in the ash. "Oops." She winced slightly.

"Yeah, oops." Lightning said, kicking the bloodied arrow aside. Lightning sighed, "Serah... they have sunlight still."

Serah straightened. "But how? The Gods turned the skies black."

"Not all the skies. Not theirs."

"What did _we _do wrong?"

"I don't know." Lightning admitted. "But it doesn't matter. We have a future now... Thanks to Fang and her people."

Serah let herself smile, something she hadn't done much of lately and turned to Fang, hugging her tight. "I'm sorry I shot you..."

Fang stiffened at the unexpected hug before glancing at Lightning. "Little Fulgur."

Lightning smiled in amusement. "No. Not little Fulgur. _Serah._"

Serah pulled away a moment later. "Fulgur?" She repeated in confusion.

"It's what she likes to call me when she thinks I'm not paying attention... " Lightning said, playfully eyeing Fang, and thankful that Fang didn't seem mad at Serah. Had it been Vanille who had shot Lightning with an arrow, Lightning was sure she would have been pretty upset... But that was the difference between Fang's tribe and her own.

Everything they had thought they knew about the wolf people was wrong. Fang's people were the ones who opened their arms to strange newcomers, who shared their homes not only with other tribes but with the wolves as well. Perhaps that was why the Gods had chosen to spare their lands while blotting out the skies above Valhalla tribe. Fang had readily welcomed Lightning into her tribe knowing that her tribe would accept them, meanwhile Lightning dreaded the argument that was sure to come when she would butt heads with her own tribe.

* * *

AN: I was hoping to finish this story with this chapter but it was starting to run pretty long so expect one final chapter in the future! Also, I've drawn a little companion picture for this story, and if you'd like to check it out it's on my Tumblr! (same username)


	13. The Wolf in the Ashes Part 4

****The Wolf in the Ashes. Part 4. 30 000 BF****

"It's worse than I thought..." Lightning frowned as she took in what was left of her tribe. Only a handful were left, and those that were left, were on the brink of starvation. Even Snow who was always the largest of the tribe had lost much of his bulky mass.

Many of the tribe were sleeping close to the main fire that was roaring in the centre of the village. It was the only source of light or heat they had and with how frail her people were, Lightning was sure that any who tried to sleep alone in the shelters, would have perished from the cold.

"Some left on their own, fearing you wouldn't return." Serah said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "The rest are buried on the plains."

Lightning shook her head, chastising herself for not being faster. "How many are left?"

"Fifteen as of yesterday."

"Fifteen... " Lightning said the word with bitterness. She was thankful that her sister had survived, albeit she too seemed smaller, but fifteen was not what she was hoping to hear. It seemed that all the young and the old had since perished, though that didn't surprise Lightning. Most had already fallen to the cold before Lightning had even left on her journey. "What about Dysley?"

Serah's face soured. "Alive and well... He's taken more than his fair share of food... claiming we need him to lead us... that he needs the food to help the rest of us survive..."

Lightning's jaw clenched. She had expected no less from the elder. "Here." Lightning dropped to her knee, and beckoned Bahamut to her side. She pulled the satchels from his back and the large wolf shook his body and fur loose before bounding off to rejoin Fang. "Can you hand out the rations?"

"Rations?" Serah peaked into the satchel and Lightning could see her sister swallow and lick her lips slightly at the sight of the dried meat.

"They're going to have to last. Be generous, but don't let them run dry." Lightning instructed.

Serah nodded and went to wake each of the sleeping tribe members with the small meal, informing them that Lightning had returned. Very quickly the small village was buzzing with the news and Lightning sighed, knowing that soon she would have to square off against Dysley.

Upon hearing the news of Lightning's return, the people seemed to come alive, and upon seeing Fang and the wolves, the elated chattering turned into a hesitant murmuring. Whispers of wolves and wolf people took hold and the people seemed to back away in fear of the strangers.

Lightning shook her head, almost in embarrassment. Fang seemed completely oblivious to the fear and confusion as she sat on a small rocky outcrop with Bahamut curled beside her and Odin resting in her lap. She simply watched as Lightning's people talked amongst themselves, occasionally rubbing Bahamut behind the ears.

The news had traveled quickly and seeing the wolf woman sitting fearlessly on the rocky outcrop had sent a small chill down Dysley's spine. "This is an outrage! You can't bring a wolf woman and her beasts into our home!" Dysley started shouting the moment Lightning was in his sites just as Lightning knew he would. He clutched tightly to his staff and gestured at Fang who merely raised an eyebrow at the commotion.

Lightning sighed and shook her head again. "She's not dangerous. She's our salvation. Isn't that what you sent me to find? A future for our people?"

"_That-" _Dysley motioned again to Fang, "Is not a future. That is barbarism!"

"Barbarism..." Lightning muttered to herself as she looked Dysley up and down. Fang and her people had gladly shared what they could with Lightning, while this man siphoned as much food as he could for himself, and yet he had the nerve to call Fang a barbarian. She grit her teeth, "you're looking awfully healthy..."

Dysley eyed Lightning with disdain. "Faith, child. Faith has kept me well."

Lightning shook her head. "Greed, more like..."

"You insolent child... You bring wolves into our lands and then insult me? I have kept this tribe alive while you were out playing with those devils!"

Lightning's muscles tensed as her ire rose. Her and Dysley had never gotten along. It had taken them losing a third of their people before he was even willing to let Lightning leave in order to find them new lands. He was prideful and arrogant and insisted that if they kept their faith, soon the skies would clear and the Gods would reward their great faith. It was only after the whispering and doubts had started, that he changed his mind, all the while making it sound as though it was his idea to send Lightning out in the first place.

"How many more people are going to have to die before you'll put your pride aside!?" Lightning yelled back.

"Pride has nothing to do with this! The wolf people are abominations! We mustn't let them taint our blood!"

Lighting clenched her teeth. "You're a fool. You would rather condemn our people to starvation than to trust them? They have sunlight! They have clean water! They have an abundance of food-"

"I will not hear of these lies! The Gods would not favour wolves over us!"

"Well they _have._ So either come with us, or starve to death here." Lightning said coldly as she turned her back on him.

"I am the leader of this tribe! I say what actions we take."

Lightning bristled and turned back to him. "Not anymore. We're one tribe now... And you're just an old man who wants to drag everyone else down with him."

Dysley raged. "You insolent child-"

"Fang and I are leading _our _people back to _our_ home, and you aren't going to stop us." Lightning paused waiting for him to say anything else but he couldn't seem to form a word through his rage, so Lightning addressed the small tribe. "We'll make way before the fire is out, start packing what you can carry." Lightning sighed as her people took a moment to accept the change in paradigm before they scuttled off to gather what belongings they could.

Dysley stayed where he stood, watching as his people went about gathering their things, his anger rising. "You denounce the Gods and paint your face... You will lead these people to ruin."

"And you're welcome to come with." Lightning dismissed him with the final offering and made her way to Fang who helped pull her up onto the rocky outcrop with one hand.

* * *

The group walked as one through the cold and barren lands, back towards Fang's people. It would take them longer to reach the wolf people than it had for Lightning and Fang to get to Valhalla tribe. The weak bodies that traveled with them slowed them considerably and Lightning worried about how many more they might lose on the way, but with Fang at her side, she knew that things were looking up. It wasn't all on her shoulders anymore, and Fang was strong and capable. With Fang and Bahamut, they actually stood a chance.

Each person had with them a small bundle of hides, each carrying their personal belongings. Some taking that which once belonged to a loved one who hadn't survived. Most of them had left their weapons behind at Lightning's urging. They needed to travel light, and with Bahamut, they wouldn't all need their heavy stone weapons for protection. Only a few still held some form of weapon. Lightning and Fang kept theirs while Serah kept her bow, and the spare arrows that the others had no longer needed. The only other weapon amongst them was a heavy stone axe that Snow carried, though he brought it more for chopping wood for their fires than for protection.

Everything else that they couldn't carry was left behind or placed into the pouches on Bahamut's back. There had been a lot of tears amongst the people as they left their homes, and the souls of the fallen, behind but Lightning was glad to be rid of the desolate little village, the sooner they left, the better their chances for survival.

"What's with her wolves?"

Lightning arched a brow and looked down to her side where Hope, the youngest survivor of her tribe, traveled next to her. She glanced back up to where Fang traveled in front of them, Bahamut loyally at her side and Odin trotting along after them.

"Only one is hers... The little white one is mine."

"... Are you one of them now?" Hope asked, concern on his face.

Lightning didn't tear her gaze away from Fang. "Yes." She paused before she turned her gaze on him. "And so are you."

Hope swallowed slightly. The years of tales had been ground into him just as they had been ground into her. He had been taught that the wolf people were cannibals and half-men who would take a child from their parents if they wandered too far into the woods. Lightning didn't fault him his hesitation, she too had been hesitant of Fang when they had first met. If Fang hadn't saved her from certain death, than she might not have been so willing to trust her.

"You don't have to fear them..."

"Wha-?" Hope stumbled a little in protest, not wanting Lightning to think he was scared. "I don't fear them..."

Lightning noted the small crease of determination in his brow and shook her head. "Odin!" The small white wolf's ears perked up. After travelling with Lightning and Fang he had finally started to recognize his own name. He turned towards Lightning and bounded over, excited at the prospect of attention and Lightning scooped him up and pushed him into Hope's hands. "Here."

Hope fumbled slightly with the small wolf, weary of holding the animal, but soon relaxed as he studied the excited creature. "It's kind of cute." He chuckled out as he sunk his finger's into the thick white fur while pulling the pup to his chest.

"Best be careful it doesn't turn on you in your sleep..." Dysley's voice came from behind and Lightning bristled. She had hoped that the old man would stay behind and rot away but with no one to hold power over, he had begrudgingly come with them.

"Best be careful _I_ don't turn on you in your sleep..." Lightning warned the elder as she placed a hand on Hope's back and pushed him along with her to join at Fang's side.

* * *

They had nearly traveled a third of what Fang and Lightning had traveled the previous day before the group was too exhausted to go on and so they set up camp for the night. Snow got the fire going and soon people were using their packs as a place to rest their heads as they took in the fires heat and ate what little rations they were given.

Lightning sighed. If they couldn't travel faster, than they would run out of rations long before they could make it back to Fang's tribe. They would have to rely on Bahamut's ability to sniff out a hunt, but even then, it wasn't a guarantee. She could feel the knots in her stomach tightening at the thought but the feeling vanished when she felt Fang's warm hand on her back. The reassuring touch melted away any apprehension she had felt in an instant.

Fang dropped her hand a second later and pulled a thin pelt from Bahamut's satchel, laying it out next to the fire. She smoothed it out and then sat down on it with her rations, patting the empty spot next to her for Lightning. Lightning sucked her teeth a second and glanced around. She'd yet to tell anyone that Fang was her mate, and now that they were settling in for the night, it was clear Fang wanted her to sleep by her side as she had all the times before.

Most of her tribe still kept a safe distance from Fang, the few exceptions being Snow, Serah and Hope. The rest of the tribe tried to stay to one side of the fire leaving Fang alone on the other side. Lighting sighed slightly. She didn't need anyone knowing of her and Fang's marriage while they were still trying to accept her, but she sat down next to Fang anyway, hoping that her people would see it more as a sign of trust towards the wolf than anything more.

Fang offered Lightning a bite of her rations and when Lightning took the dried meat into her hands, Fang went about stripping herself of her pelts. Lightning's eyes grew wide and she placed a hand on Fang's arm before she could lift the last of the haphazard pelts up over her head and Fang met her with a quizzical look.

"Fang..." Lightning winced slightly. Lightning herself had gotten used to Fang's nakedness over their travels but knew that her own people would look down on Fang for it. Fang seemed to enjoy the feeling of Lightning's skin on her own and since their union had laid naked with Lightning nearly every night since.

Lightning motioned to the rest of the people who had settled down for a rest and Fang frowned.

"Lightnin'..." Fang motioned to Lighting and then to herself. "Sex?"

Lightning's cheeks burned and she immediately clamped a hand over Fang's mouth, before glancing around to make sure no one else had overheard her. Fang knitted her eyebrows in confusion as Lightning pulled her hand away. "No... no sex..." She whispered to Fang.

Fang pouted slightly at the answer. The two had made a reliable routine over their journey to Valhalla tribe. Almost every night they had tussled with each other so now that Lightning was denying Fang their nightly ritual Fang didn't know quite what to do.

"Sleep Fang... Just sleep." Lightning said and rolled up the pelts Fang had managed to discard placing them down for Fang to use as a pillow. She then laid down beside her, a safe distance from Fang's touch as Fang continued to pout at her. She felt a small pang of guilt at Fang's pout. Not for denying her sex, but for keeping her marriage a secret from her tribe and forcing Fang to keep her distance. She wanted nothing more than to comply with Fang's wants and enjoy another night of closeness with her mate but her embarrassment kept her from Fang.

It was harder than normal to get to sleep that night, she had become so used to Fang's warmth that she felt amiss without it but whenever Fang would reach out to her, Lightning would once again rebuff her advances and keep her at arms length.

Fang gave her a confused look, she was not used to Lightning pushing her away. Lightning frowned seeing the pained expression and thought for a second before pulling the pelt she had under her head and unfurled it between them. Under the pelt, Lightning reached for Fang's hand and held it in her own. Finally Fang's expression softened and Lightning felt Fang tighten her hold on the offered hand. She still felt guilty that she couldn't give Fang more, but Fang seemed content with the offering and eventually closed her eyes.

* * *

"I don't understand... we had enough rations for a whole week left." Lightning knitted her eyebrows in confusion when her sister came to her with the news.

"Yeah... we did. I counted it out yesterday, we had enough for nine days... today we have crumbs... " Serah held open the satchel for Lightning to see. All that was left were a few meager scraps of dried meat, hardly enough for one person.

Lightning felt herself fume. They'd been travelling only a couple weeks and had made it halfway to the valley of their new home, but somehow in the span of a night, a weeks worth of meats had gone missing. Bahamut and Fang had been hunting any small game they could come across while Lightning set snares, but even that wasn't enough to keep their stores up, and now someone had jeopardized the entire group with their greed.

Lightning grabbed the satchel from her sister a little rougher than she had intended to and marched up in front of the entire group, tossing the near empty satchel on the ground. "Someone's taken our entire store of food. I want to know who." Lightning demanded.

The people began to chatter amongst themselves, surprised and worried about the revelation, but no one stepped forward.

"This food belonged to all of us! If you know who took it, speak up."

"The wolves... I told you... I told you you couldn't trust a wolf..." Dysley's voice came out calm and cool as he feigned disappointment. "I saw them scarfing the meat down earlier this morning..."

Lightning began to boil with anger... "Dysley, you son of a bitch..."

"I told you _all_ that the wolves couldn't be trusted!" Dysley continued, trying to incite the people. Each of whom looked confused. They continued to chatter amongst themselves. A few glanced towards Fang and Bahamut who paid them no mind. She didn't understand the chatter and instead played a game with Bahamut where they both tried to pry a stick away from the other. "The wolves and their people are nothing but animals... and should be slaughtered as such..."

"_Animals_?" Lightning's fists tightened.

"Animals... Your wolf woman can't even speak real words... She's as much a beast as the wolves that follow her about..."

Lightning's temper flared and she saw red. "You call her an animal!? She and her people welcomed me with open arms! They fed me, kept me warm, gave me gifts! She's offering you the same and you want to kill her!? You're the animal here! What did you do with the food!?"

Lightning marched up to the elder and grabbed him by the collar of his pelts. The action causing everyone to stiffen with anticipation. Even Fang who hadn't been paying attention before was now watching with rapt attention.

"Whatever do you mean? I saw the wolves eat it with my very eyes."

"Go."

"Excuse me?"

"Go... Or I'll carve _you_ up for our next meal..."

"You really are one of them now, aren't you...?" He said, disdain dripping from his voice. Her threat didn't seem to penetrate his calm exterior. "It's not just paint on your face... You've truly become just another wolf in the ashes."

"Yeah... And you're just another body in the ground." Lightning furrowed her brow and pushed the elder back. "Go."

"You can't be serious... You wouldn't abandon _me._ I've lead this tribe since before you were _born_."

"And now _I'm _leading it." Lightning stepped forward, causing Dysley to step back. "You endangered _my_ people. You have no place here."

When Dysley didn't start walking immediately, Lightning let out a whistle and Bahamut perked up, leaving Fang and running to Lightning's side. With a snap of her fingers and a point, Bahamut's fur stood on end and he began to stalk towards Dysley, snapping his jaws. Dysley visibly stumbled back at the advancing and snarling wolf. He could try to argue with Lightning, but he would have no sway over Bahamut.

He continued to back away until he tripped over an uprooted tree, landing hard on his rear.

"Let's go." Lightning's voice was dark and no one questioned her after seeing the brutal exchange between her and their former leader. No one else wanted to get on her bad side. They all quickly picked up their belonging's and followed after Lightning, trying to ignore the sounds of Bahamut's snarling.

When the last of the group had left, Fang stood and watched for a second as Bahamut snapped at Dysley.

"Please! Call him off!" Dysley's normally calm and cool voice was long gone and was now replaced with true fear, but his words fell on the only ears that couldn't understand them. Fang hadn't understood why the man was being punished, but she wasn't about to undermine Lightning's decision and so she too followed after the group.

Once the group had traveled a fair distance, Fang let out a sharp whistle and waited until Bahamut came bounding through the ashes to rejoin her at her side. She gave him a pat on the head and a quick scratch behind the ears. Only Bahamut knew for certain if Dysley was still alive or not.

"Fulgur?" Fang said, joining Lightning's side.

Lightning sighed. "What?" She tried not to come off harsh but she was still seething and the bite was still there.

Where any normal person would have shrunk away Fang simply cocked her head to the side, analyzing her mate. It was one thing Lightning admired about Fang. Fang didn't seem to understand fear like most people, or if she did, she certainly didn't show it.

Seeing Lightning's anger Fang simply put a hand on her mate's back and walked with her. Lightning's anger immediately evaporated and was replaced with defeat.

"Fang... The food is gone... We're not going to make it back." Lightning's voice came out small. She knew Fang wouldn't understand her, but she needed to say it anyway. "I'm sorry."

Fang gave a meek smile and began to rattle on about something. For all Lightning knew, Fang was telling her a story of some kind, or telling her about the neat scar Serah's arrow would leave in her shoulder. It didn't matter, simply hearing Fang's melodic voice was calming and as they walked, Lightning leaned into Fang, resting her head on the wolf woman's shoulder, not caring who might see.

* * *

It didn't take long for the hunger to set in. The people were tired, and hungry. Those who knew their situation were lachrymose and the sounds of their weeping was enough to fill Lightning with guilt. "I never should have let Dysley come with us." She poked at the fire in front of her with a stick, wishing she had some fresh meat to put on the fire. The very thought of it made her stomach grumble.

"You're not to blame." Snow said, tossing a small piece of wood onto the fire.

"Yeah... He's a vile person." Serah added.

"And yet I knew that and still let him come with us..." Lightning sighed.

There was a thick silence where no one knew what to say. It was clear Lightning was intent of beating herself up. Everyone knew it wasn't her fault but she took the blame for it anyway. The members of Valhalla tribe sat along the rocky hill side, shielded from the cold, as they tried to forget about their hunger pains. A few people tried to get some sleep but their grumbling stomachs wouldn't quite let them pass over into the dreaming world.

There was an audible grumble as the small group sat around in silence. At first Lightning thought it was Snow's stomach but then she heard it again and knit her eyebrows together. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Snow asked.

Lightning held up her hand, telling him to be quiet and listen. After a short silent moment she heard the grumbling again. Each of them looked at each other in confusion. It was clearly not their stomachs.

"Lightnin'! Lightnin'!" Fang's call broke the silence as the wolf woman bounded over the rocky hill with her spear in hand and slid across loose rocks on her way down. Her brashness broke the silence and caught everyone's attention. She expertly navigated the rocky hillside in her excitement. "Lightnin'! Mammoth!"

Lightning knitted her eyebrows in confusion and shook her head as Fang came to a stop in front of her. "What's that mean? What's mammoth?"

"_Mammoth!_" Fang said again like it would make sense the second time. When it was clear Lightning didn't understand, Fang grabbed at one of her thick pelts. "Mammoth!"

Lightning's eyes shot open in realization and Fang grinned before turning back up the hill and climbing to the top with Lightning fallowing on her heals. As they crested the hill Lightning's mouth hung open. Huge beasts silhouetted the dark landscape. She could hear the sounds of their massive feet shaking the earth and the odd grumbling from their long noses. Two long white teeth seemed to jut out from the faces, making for a fearsome hunt. She'd never seen such a huge beast before.

"Woah..." Snow's voice was lower than normal, in awe of the creatures that were crossing the land. "What the hell are those?"

Every member of the tribe had scrambled their way up the rocky hill in order to get a look at the creatures and each one was left in awe.

"Where did they come from?"

"There's no food here... how are they alive?"

"I think they're travelling to new lands too... like us." Hope interjected. There was a small amount of sympathy in his voice.

"That's a lot of food..." Lightning said, eyeing one of the smaller beasts and running a hand along her knife. "Enough to feed us all for weeks."

Fang gave Lightning a knowing look before smoothing out the ashes on the ground in front of them. "Bahamut," Fang draw a curved line in the ash and then a small circle. "Mammoth... bahamut" She changed the direction and drew out her plan for Bahamut to separate one of the mammoths. "Lightnin'. Fang. Little Fulgur." She pointed out more positions, making sure they each understood where they would come into play. Serah made sure her bow was intact, and nodded her understanding when Lightning raised her brow at her, a silent asking if she was up to the task.

The small hunting party made their way down the other side of the rocky hill and tried to stay low and silent as the closed in on the heard. With a quick whistle and a point of the finger, Bahamut was off, circling widely behind one of the straggling mammoths, and effectively separating it from the rest as he snapped at its back end.

The beast trumpeted and stomped about, trying to scare the wolf off but Bahamut was disciplined and kept at it while the other mammoths scampered away in fear of more wolves.

On Fang's cue, Serah let an arrow fly. The first pierced the creature's cheek, making it stumble back in surprise. The second was more true and landed straight in the beasts eye. The large creature tossed its head about in pain but continued moving and Fang and Lightning charged from its sides.

With nothing but her knife, Lightning relied on her speed. She ran up alongside the animal and dodged its large tusks as it desperately tried to defend itself against the onslaught. She made to distract the beast as Fang came up on its blind side and with her spear, drove it into the animal's thick neck. It wasn't enough and beast stumbled to the side, shoving Fang away and causing her to fall with a hard thud, leaving the spear buried in the beast's neck.

The creature picked up its massive feat but before it could come down on Fang, Lightning had grabbed it by its tusk and redirected it just enough for Fang to roll out from its path. It once again charged towards Lightning and she managed to out maneuver it again, this time, getting a firm grip on its tusk and pulling herself up the creature's body.

She dug her fingers tight into the thick fur of its body and pulled herself up onto its shoulders as it continued to stomp about. She needed to loosen Fang's spear so they could try again. As the animal panicked, Lightning held tight to its coat and leaned down as far as she could to grasp Fang's spear. She managed to grip the bloodied spear and pry it from the thick flesh tossing it off the mammoth and towards Fang.

Fang quickly got to her feet again and sprinted after the mammoth, picking up the spear along the way and redirecting Bahamut with a sharp whistle. Bahamut circled around the animal again and soon the mammoth was heading back towards Fang.

Fang planted her feet firmly and held the spear tight. As soon as the mammoth was on her she drove the spear up under its jaw and directly into the beasts brain. It let out one last cry as it stomped about disoriented before its massive body fell to the ground with a thundering crash. Fang managed to step back a good distance before the beast fell and Lightning tumbled off the beasts shoulders, landing at Fang's feet.

"Fulgur'!" Fang grinned down at Lightning who simply blew a strand of hair out of her face.

* * *

The mammoth meat provided them with more than they could eat during their travels. Stomachs were full and energy renewed. The group was in good spirits for the first time since the mountain had blackened the skies. It had given them the energy and the drive to take them to the last stretch, where they stopped for the final night in the muralled cave.

It was only now that Lightning recognized the large pelt on the cave floor as a mammoth's pelt. She had thought it was too big to have come from a bea' but she had had no idea that a bigger beast existed. She'd learned a lot about the world over the last couple of months she'd never known before.

Serah wandered along the cave wall with a lit torch, marveling at the handprints and paintings that covered it. "This is amazing! Light! Look at this!"

Lightning smiled as she joined her sister. "It's Fang's tribe."

"Wow..." She traced her fingers over one of the handprints on the wall, in awe of the giant mural.

Lightning felt a light nudge and turned to the source. Fang motioned to the wall with her head as she placed two small pouches into Lightning's hands. Lightning knitted her brow in confusion at first as she eyed the pouches before she realized what it was Fang was telling her to do. She glanced to Fang again and Fang once again nodded towards the wall, as if telling her to go on.

Just as Fang had done for Lightning her first night in the cave, Lightning did for Serah. She blew a circle of white powder onto the wall and placed her sisters hand delicately onto it before blowing the red dust over it to create the silhouette, adding her sister's handprint to the collection on the walls. Once she was done and Serah had a moment to admire her handprint amongst the others, Lightning placed the pouches into Serah's hand and motioned for her to do the next as one by one, each member was brought into the tribe by the one before them.

Lightning watched silently from the mammoth pelt with Fang as they watched their people laugh and draw on each other with the rock powder. Once again Fang had given her more than what she was capable of returning. Again, she rested her head on Fang's shoulder, letting Fang rest her head against her own.

* * *

"Is that... light?" Serah said in disbelief as the group neared the end of he cave system. The light magenta glow was almost blinding after traveling the dark caves and the months of darkness in the mountains shadow. Serah almost couldn't believe her eyes.

"Haha! We did it!" Snow cheered and grabbed Serah's hand as they ran towards the light.

The enthusiasm was infectious and soon nearly the entire tribe was running towards the light, ready to bask in the warmth they'd been deprived of.

Fang and Lightning walked on after them, smiling softly at their excitement. The laughs reverberated down the cave and punctuated the dark with it's much needed light.

"Thank you, Fang." Lightning said softly, glancing to the woman next to her as Bahamut and Odin took chase after the rest of the tribe.

Fang raised a brow but quickly understood the sentiment when Lightning's lips found her own. It was a gentle kiss. A kiss filled with gratitude and adoration.

Lightning ran her hands through Fang's wild hair and enjoyed the private moment. They hadn't had enough private moments on their journey. Only a few times were they able to sneak in a kiss and only once a tryst when they'd gone out in search of a hunt on their own. But this moment felt sweeter than any of those previous. This one was filled with a hopeful future.

* * *

They were home long before the sun went down and were greeted with open arms and strange words. The site of the phantoms excited the wolf people and the entire village was gathering with gifts of pelts and trinkets to help them start their new lives. The stories of the wolf people were quickly forgotten in the wake of their generosity. It had taken no more than an evening for the two tribes to mingle and become one.

Curiosity was thick as everyone studied each other and offered foods and warmth. Lightning was actually proud of how quickly the two people came together. She had expected some hesitation, but figured that Fang had made a good impression on them, allowing them to trust their new tribe mates more quickly.

Vanille was eagerly flitting about and meeting all the new faces, taking it upon herself to answer questions and get the newcomers set up with their new shelters when Fang interrupted her. Vanille gave Fang a big hug before noticing the girl Fang had pulled along with her. She looked just like Lightning only younger and kinder and her assumptions were confirmed when she was introduced and Fang referred to her as "Little Lightning".

"Sorry! I don't want to interrupt you but Fang seems to really want me to meet you." Serah said somewhat sheepishly.

"It's alright! I don't bite! I'm Vanille!"

"Serah." Serah nodded her head in greeting while Fang bent down to Vanille's ear and grinned wolfishly as she spoke. Vanille's cheeks turned red in an instant.

"Fang!"

Fang chuckled and slapped Vanille on the back before wandering off to find Lightning.

Serah knitted her brow. "What did she say?"

If Vanille's face could turn any redder it would have as she tried to avoid Serah's eye. "Fang seems to think 'cause she married your sister that I should marry you."

Serah laughed at the comment before the words actually sunk in and her face turned confused, "...Lightning's married?"

* * *

AN: I think that's it for this story! Hopefully it was satisfying! Also Leo-the-Lion has done some awesome artwork for this story and if you want to see them, check out their tumblr at the same name!


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